Missing Moments: Harry Potter Edition
by Ashmem
Summary: During the summer after the Triwizard Tournament, Albus Dumbledore brings news of a mysterious volume appearing in the Department of Mysteries. Within its pages, the names of many Hogwarts students pop up countless times. Follow the residents of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place as they uncover the mystery that is soon to be known as the past, present, and future.
1. Full Disclaimer

Welcome! Next up is the very first installment of _Missing Moments: Harry Potter Edition. _This will be a Harry Potter and co. (but without the real Harry Potter) read the book series, only I will be treating this like a regular fanfiction novel and such. I have read many of these myself and have disliked how unrealistic they are, even within a different kind of fantasy-like world. I plan to keep this as realistic as I can think to make it and for it to be enjoyable. :D

**DISCLAIMER!** I do NOT own Harry Potter or anything associated with it. All Harry Potter rights go to J. K. Rowling. I take credit for the plot and nothing else. This will be the ONLY disclaimer throughout the story.

Before this chapter begins, I just want to mention that the story will be told in the eyes of the narrator while in third person. For example, the chapter will follow a character (which will often be the same one) and will be written in such a way so as to reflect on their view of the various people and how they might observe their surroundings. In this chapter, Remus will be one of the main narrators, so it will be told with more intellect and details than if Ron was perhaps the narrator.

And I will be skipping the first chapter of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ at the very least. Any chapters skipped after that are not yet known to me.

While reading the books, if you haven't read them all or are re-reading them, please picture James and Lily's reactions while you read. And all of those characters who die along the way, add their reactions to the timeline and things Lily and James could tell them. It definitely makes things more interesting.

**Background:** takes place during OotP, before Harry arrives at Grimmauld Place. The whole Weasley family (besides Percy, with Bill and Charlie popping in occasionally), Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius, Hermione and sometimes Severus. This will include future events of OotP, HBP and DH. Harry will not be in this story unless I decide to change that (if I do, I'll let you know).

P.S. I apologize in advance for making Sirius sound a little bit like an alcoholic. I mean, I'm sure some readers believed he was, and he very well could have been, but I personally don't think that he was "completely." It was just a reflection I made when reading _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix._

**EDIT: (05-02-2020)**

Things for this story are now being taken down a different path. I was 1 and a half chapters into this story when I realized that actually doing all of the books would take FOREVER. I knew this before, but I like to think ambitiously. Now, however, I've acknowledged the fact that if I make a commitment to write out all 7 books plus additional lines, I am going to hate myself and this story.

This was not my original goal, nor my original plan.

I am not giving up (just tweaking things quite a bit). From now on, only the important moments throughout books 1-4 will appear as chapters. There are quite a few of those, so it will be a while before we get to books 5-7. At this point in time, the plan is to get to book 5 and finish with full, complete chapters. Every chapter in books 5-7 will be included. THIS IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHANGE.

In the future, I may come back and say that just the important moments out of books 5-7 will be included. Book 5 is when things start getting closer together though, so if that is the case, it is likely that almost every chapter will be included anyway.

Happy writing and happy quarantine! We're getting there (hopefully). Making some progress.

* * *

**Full Description**

During the summer after the Triwizard Tournament, Albus Dumbledore brings news of a mysterious volume appearing in the Department of Mysteries. Within its pages, the names of many Hogwarts students pop up countless times.

This leads to the discussion and reading of the volume to see what it contains and if it can yield any information impartial to the demise of Lord Voldemort, whose forces are ever-growing in power and numbers.

Interesting, unforeseen facts come to the surface, including many stories as well. Follow the residents of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place as they uncover the mystery that is soon to be known as the past, present, and future.


	2. Completing the Picture

**_Prologue _\- Completing the Picture**

Sirius Black was not having a good summer.

He felt trapped, stuck in his old family home with a bunch of loud, obnoxious teenagers that reminded him way too much of himself. His godson was miles away and he still remained an escaped convict.

He sat at the long table in the basement kitchen, pouring over a bottle of firewhiskey. Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of his habits of drinking around the children -a few glasses of wine at dinner, a bottle of firewhiskey throughout the day.

Remus, surprisingly, often accompanied him when it came to midnight escapades throughout Grimmauld Place. Back in their Marauder days, Remus tended to sit out on more of their exploits than Peter did.

Sirius went to take another sip only to find his cup empty.

Sighing, he left the room, making sure to dispose of the empty bottle lest Molly find it in the morning. He didn't think he could handle her wrath right now.

Order meetings had, so far, become pretty uneventful. After the Triwizard Tournament, they'd had quite a few leads and disputes to settle out, which they'd done very quickly and quietly. Now, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place's only job seemed to be acting as the sitting ground for all of the left over Order members to come and go as they pleased, and nobody preferred to sit in the drawing room because of this fact.

The only good news Sirius had gotten since mid-June was hearing that Harry's arrival was scheduled for August 6th, the first time he'd really get to spend any quality time with him.

Throughout the past two years, Sirius had begun gathering as much information on him as he could, interested in just the idea of him. Remus and him liked to reminisce about Lily and James before switching to Harry and all of his known endeavors.

Apparently, Remus heard quite a bit during his time as a Hogwarts professor. Quidditch star as a first year, going after the Sorcerer's Stone, rescuing Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets, reputation for getting into trouble (intentional or otherwise), falling on the receiving end of some pretty brutal injuries, and many more.

Sirius and Remus were almost completely sure that half of the stories handed to them were fake and that there was so much more they didn't yet know.

Harry's arrival was a very anticipated event by all residing in the Order's headquarters.

August 6th couldn't come quick enough. Every day drawing closer was an adventure in itself. Attitudes changed, mannerisms were somewhat altered and the room Ron was set to share with him was magically cleansed.

Sirius knew that Molly and Arthur were still somewhat hesitant around him. After all, one couldn't just scrape away a long, famous reputation for mass murder and hostility. Molly found it imperative to lecture Sirius on his behavior, something that wasn't appreciated by any of the house's many inhabitants.

"I fully understand that Harry is your Godson, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley began, "but he's just been through a terrible ordeal and doesn't need your dark attitude lingering around him for the rest of the summer."

He nodded and rolled his eyes. He'd already fought with this woman too many times to count. The last thing he would possibly wish for is to make things even harder on Harry.

Feeling sure that Harry's friends felt the exact same way as he did, he said, "I never planned on doing anything out of the usual, Molly. We were all teenagers once, I'm sure _you_ can remember."

The Floo flared up in drawing room, and Albus Dumbledore stalked through to the kitchen. "Arthur, word from the Ministry has been received," Albus said mournfully. "The Department of Mysteries wishes to have an inquiry processed. Your name was mentioned, as was your son's, Percy. The Unspeakables mentioned a heavy volume involving many Order members and Hogwarts students."

Molly's face reddened as she turned towards her husband. "What-do you know anything about this, Arthur?"

Arthur's face took on a look of confusion and something that could only be representative of a parent-slight terror for his children. "I had nothing to do with this. I will try and speak with Percy in the morning, see if he's aware of this and if he was involved. I'm sure Fudge will be putting every available staff member on the case because of the writing it holds."

Sirius moved his eyes to Dumbledore in time for him to see his old headmaster's eyes rush away. "What is it, Albus?" he asked contemplatively with a tinge of dread.

Albus fixated his gaze just past Sirius's right shoulder, staring straight into the scolding kitchen fireplace. "Harry's name was brought up more than once. Perhaps at least a dozen times, in fact." He turned to the Weasleys once more. "As were Ron's and the twin's names, among others."

Arthur nodded and slumped down onto the nearest chair. Sirius huffed and mentally prepared himself for what was sure to be an agonizing day tomorrow.

* * *

Arthur didn't get back from the Ministry until long after dinner. Molly had already thoroughly cleaned the basement kitchen and dinning room once over and had just began clearing out all of the cupboards when Arthur stepped out of the simmering fireplace.

Sirius and Remus stood from the table and rolled up some Order documents. Molly wrung her hands together as she waited for Arthur to set his briefcase down and take off his coat in the doorway.

He wore a tired expression and gave a fleeting glance to the sealed documents arranged on the table before he turned away in his chair.

"Did you see Percy?" Molly asked as she bustled between the counter and the stove to prepare tea and heat up that night's dinner. "Oh, where's Albus? Have you gotten _anything_ straightened out?"

Arthur nodded his thanks as she set his plate and cup down in front of him. "Albus stayed behind at the Ministry to try and speak to the Minister. He'd been avoiding us the entire day. Percy got suspended from his position-all of the departments know-and wasn't there. I'm not sure where he's living, but I did not see him at all today." He leaned back in his chair as he met eyes with Sirius and Remus. "The Unspeakables refused to meet with us about their findings and the Minister is the only one who presumably knows what, exactly, they've found."

It was in that moment when a loud _crash!_ erupted from the room directly above them. Molly was instantly sent into a fit of rage. _"Fred and George Weasley! You two_ _better hope for something less than a full be-"_

The Order had done their best to keep this information from Hermione and the Weasley children. Despite their best efforts, Fred and George had accidentally sprouted something about "a heavy book that's in the Ministry" at the dinner table to give them away. Ginny, Ron and Hermione were then full of questions that the adults couldn't bear to leave unanswered, for fear that they'd come up with an idea worse than what the reality actually was.

Molly stormed out of the room, her steps audible to those remaining in the kitchen during her whole journey up the stairs. It was a surprise and relief that the late Walburga Black's portrait hadn't been awoken in the process.

Sirius rubbed his eyes and kept his face downcast, the shadow from the fireplace giving him a dangerously eerie expression. Remus nudged his shoulder into him slightly. "Let's go. Give Arthur some peace and quiet"-he nodded towards him-"and wait for Albus in the drawing room."

Sirius let the door slam shut behind them.

* * *

Albus stumbled out of the fireplace a little after midnight. The Floo roared so loudly Sirius thought he would wake the entire house, or at least the firewhiskey was making it seem that way.

"Ah, Sirius. Still awake, I am to assume?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily in the drousing embers.

Sirius shook himself off the couch, nearly falling from disorientation all the while. "Did you talk to Fudge? What about the inquiry?"

Dumbledore strode purposefully into the dining room, disregarding the rest of the empty house. "The Minister is still refusing to speak with anyone who is even associated to me," he announced heavily.

He stopped next to the table and dropped a large volume onto its surface. Sirius's jaw slackened. "I did manage to swipe this from one of our fellow members. Sturgis gave it to me." Dumbledore turned and pointed a finger towards him, smiling thinly. "I trust that you will not touch this until the morning?"

Sirius was at a loss. "But-where are _you_ going?" He questioned, as Albus had already begun bustling back towards the fireplace.

"Why, back to Hogwarts of course, to rest up for tomorrow. I daresay you could use the rest more than I could."

Sirius didn't have time to make a witty remark before Albus was walking back towards the direction he'd come from. Instead, he asked, "When can we expect you?"

Dumbledore paused, crouched by the mantel. "Around noon. I have other matters to attend to first. Goodnight, Sirius." And with that, Albus was flying through the Floo Network and back into the headmaster's chambers at Hogwarts.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Sirius ascended the staircase to his chosen bedroom. He changed and sat down next to his window that overlooked the side streets below and the busy nighttime London traffic far beyond. The only thing he could think of, as he slowly drifted off into a restful sleep, was the dusty title he'd briefly read on the volume.

_Absentis Frusta de Praeteritis, Praesentibus et Future._

He knew what it meant. After all, he'd been forced to learn Latin as a small child. _Missing Pieces of the Past, Present and_ _Future._

It was going to take everything he had to keep himself from going downstairs to flip through the pages and see what they contained.

* * *

It wasn't until around around seven a.m. the next day that the house's first occupants managed to stumble down to the basement kitchen.

Remus Lupin, accompanied by Molly and Arthur Weasley, found their way to the edges of the table with warm, full mugs of coffee and hot chocolate, respectively. A hollow silence fell over the trio, each trying to bring themselves out of their sleep-induced stupor.

Molly went on to make a meager breakfast with little help from either Arthur or Remus. The crisp smell of bacon and scrambled eggs was what lured the Weasley children and Hermione down from their rooms.

"Goo' mornin' mum," Ron said around his mouth full of bacon and Ginny rolled her eyes at him from the across the table.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Ronald!"

"Has anyone seen Sirius?" Hermione asked, about halfway through the meal, for a letter from Harry had just arrived.

Remus and Arthur shared a look the children knew all too well. Remus turned back to Hermione before saying, "He's probably just catching up on some sleep. We were all up pretty late last night."

No more questions were asked for the rest of breakfast, or morning for that matter. Remus could only fathom that Sirius had locked himself in his room again, either brooding or asleep.

The Weasley twins lead the way into the drawing room, where everyone was deciding to relax for the day and give up the non-stop cleaning that had taken place since their arrival at Grimmauld Place at the end of the July.

Remus picked up the book he was currently reading, The Picture of Dorian Gray, to try and pass some time, hoping that Sirius would eventually make his way back down to civilization.

A faint shout from one of the rudely awakened twins announced Nymphadora Tonks's arrival, with Mad-Eye Moody appearing from the fireplace not much later. The two headed straight for the kitchen, preparing for the urgently called Order meeting.

A steady arrival stream of Order members then began, only stopping once Albus Dumbledore walked into the kitchen with Severus Snape in tow. His eyes scanned the room dutifully, noting the absence of something in the room with a lingering gaze.

"Where is Sirius?" he asked.

Remus was momentarily confused. "I believe he's up in his room. Shall I go fetch him?"

Albus nodded briskly and added warily, as an after thought, "Call the children down too, if you will."

The response was instantaneous around the room. "The children? But this is an Order meeting! They've never been allowed entrance before!"

Molly was up on her feet in seconds, as was Arthur, albeit a little ashamedly. "The children cannot handle this information! We have left them out for a reason, mind you, Albus!"

Albus raised a hand and the room quietened almost immediately. "Molly, I assure you that the thought has crossed my mind multiple times over the past twenty-four hours. I remind you that this entire meeting is based around them. I think it would be in all of our best interests if we all knew what was going on, at least in this particular case."

The room was still before everyone slowly sat back in their chairs and hesitantly resumed their previous conversations. Severus leaned down and murmured, in what could almost be considered a purr, "That couldn't possibly have gone better."

Remus found the children outside on the landing, all with ecstatic, yet curious and confused, expressions. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms, instantly semi-cautious. His head lowered so as to look them in the eye. "Now, you must understand that these meetings are not a joke, and must be handled maturely. I can assure you that the moment any of you start behaving childishly, you will be thrown out. We discuss many relevant, sometimes gruesome, things. I'm sure you have already figured that out and understand what it entails."

Fred and George smirked slightly. This was going to be fun.

Remus smiled and lowered his voice as he said, "And, secretly, we all want you in there just as much as you want to be in there. You're all just as stressed out as the rest of us sometimes. Don't make us regret letting you in here with us tonight, because it might allow you all to begin sitting in on more meetings."

As soon as his head motioned towards the door, they were off, racing into the kitchen to find spots along the wall and at the table wherever they could.

Remus climbed the stairs in a haste, ready to start the meeting. Usually when urgent meetings like this were called, nothing good or pleasant was revealed, but Remus knew otherwise today.

When he finally reached the fourth floor, Remus was nearly winded. Sirius's bedroom door was opposite the staircase and was slightly ajar. He pushed the door open farther and was amused to see his childhood friend draped across the back of one of the chairs he put right next to the window overlooking the street below and the bustling city of London beyond.

Remus moved carefully into the room so as to not startle the man. The heavy crimson drapes were open just enough to see out of and dust thickly covered everything in the room.

Remus moved next to the chair and nudged Sirius harshly. "Sirius, wake up. The meeting is about to start." Sirius stirred lightly but did not wake. His long, black hair covered his face but was pushed out by his heavy breaths.

"Sirius!" Remus moved to shove him, but Sirius was too quick for that. He shot up in the chair and almost immediately had brandished a wand and had it level with Remus's nose.

A moment passed before Sirius's eyes became focused and confusion and irritation at the prospect of being woken up shown in the murky grey depths. "What, Remus?" he asked, not caring how his tone sounded to the younger man.

"The Order meeting is about to start. Everyone's gathered down in the kitchen. Even the children have been allowed to attend."

Sirius thought back to late the previous night when Dumbledore had stumbled upon him while he was delirious in the drawing room. Dumbledore said he would be visiting, but had he said anything about a full Order meeting?

"Right. Just give me a minute and I'll be down." With that, Sirius further pulled himself up out of the chair and left to go to the bathroom, leaving Remus standing against the chair.

"Well, alright then," Remus muttered to himself and retreating much the same way he had entered. He'd have to be wary of Sirius's impending attitude, already knowing that Severus would make his first snide comment the moment he entered the room.

* * *

Almost half an hour later saw to the complete Order-all except for one monumental person-and the children in the kitchen. Severus was acting beyond annoyed and even Albus was beginning to show tightly concealed exasperation.

Just as Severus was getting ready to bound through the door and drag Sirius down by the scruff of his neck, the man himself somberly trudged in and took his seat at the head of the table.

Molly shot him a stern frown from her seat between Arthur and Hestia Jones and turned back to levitating still-bound scrolls to various seated members; the newest and least trusted members stood along the walls, preening to catch a glance of an array of battle strategies, long collected notes, and hand-written profiles on hundreds of known Death Eaters, Ministry officials, associates to Voldemort, etc.

Albus stood and smiled gently. "Aren't you forgetting something, Sirius?"

Sirius snapped his head up to meet the eyes of old wizard and realization seemed to dawn within him. "Oh, right," he said and proceeded to leave the room.

Remus was not the only one confused at this point for Mad-Eye was looking up through the ceiling and Hermione was trying to send discreet glances to Ginny and Ron.

"There is a matter in which that most of you have not yet been informed of," Albus began. "Sunday morning, I received word from our partners within the Ministry that pertains to the Department of Mysteries."

All of the children leaned forward with keen interest. "Not much is currently known about said department, nor those who work it, which are referred to as the Unspeakables," Albus continued, mainly to the children. "However, with the help of Sturgis Podmore, we have gotten confidence that a rather large volume appeared sometime between the end of the last Hogwarts term and the end of the past week. What that volume contains is a mystery to most, with the most minimal amount of details know by even the Unspeakables themselves."

Tonks rested her head on her chin. "Then what _do_ we know? Anything at this point?" she asked tiredly.

Albus held up a steady hand. "Fortunately, Sturgis managed to take a brief look at one of the reports belonging to the overseer of the case, which are highly vast and indifferent. Many Hogwarts students are mentioned throughout the text, some more than others. It is to my belief that, at this current time, this book holds value and seriousness when dealing with the eternal time around us. By this, meaning that it is believed the book holds events and messages of the past, present, and future."

It was then that Sirius made his re-entry into the room, nearly knocking himself into a very enthusiastic Dedalus Diggle. His reappearance was noticed by few, among those were Remus and Hermione, who both appeared to be in a state of deep thought. If Dedalus Diggle's mutterings of "changing the future" and "restoring the past" were anything to go by, then he assumed Albus had done a right job explaining to the Order what he'd already heard.

"Ah, Sirius. I see you've been keeping it away from prying eyes." He cast a knowing look to Sirius in response to his shallow glare. "On the table then; let them see it."

A heavy thud was the only answer to that statement as dirt particles scattered throughout the air. The book was a sight to behold all in itself for many of the members, never having seen a book of its particular capacity outside of the Hogwarts library.

"Shall we get started then? We have a lot to get through," Severus proposed dryly. "Following Potter, Granger, and the Weasleys throughout their years at Hogwarts. How utterly _fascinating_."

Sirius sent a sharp glare at him from across the table. He leaned back and tilted his chair up on its hind legs. "I've heard stories, but not with much detail. I'm sure it is as utterly fascinating as you say it is, Snape." And repeating Albus's earlier words, Sirius jubilantly asked, "Shall we?" And so Sirius again reached for the voluminous book and for all of its soon to be disclosed secrets.

He lifted the cover that was blank for all except the fancy, engraved writing of the title and turned to the first cracked, yellowing page.

* * *

**I apologize for the countless number of time skips. I had never originally planned for there to be that many and I know they can sometimes be confusing to see who the narrator might be, if it changed or not and such.**

**And we're off! Technically for the second time, but really the first since this is just a continuation of the second part.**

**Thanks for sticking around! I know it's been a while, but there's a reason for that. I'm still gathering details and arranging things for my last, currently new Harry Potter fanfiction. For example, I've changed some things but still have no title or description. It will be in two parts still, but not as it was before. I'm happy to say I got some things done, yet not nearly as much as I would have liked.**

**See you when I get the next part up!**

_**\- Ashlynn**_


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Lines will be taken directly from the Harry Potter books starting in this chapter. These lines will be bolded, except for the first two words of each chapter, which will ALWAYS be bolded.**

**In the beginning I tried to go without the bolded words because I personally don't like it, but that didn't work out too well.**

**_1_ \- The Vanishing Glass**

**_Book 1, Chapter 2_**

Albus reached out a quick hand to stop Sirius. "Hold on, just one moment please. I wish to speak about one more topic before we begin." He pointed a look at Sirius whom dismally leaned back.

"It is also to my belief that this book has appeared for a specific reason. Because of its peculiar contents of a supposed detailed summary of all the events from the past, present, and future years, I believe that it was given to us in order to make changes and prevent or derail current and future affairs."

His latest statement left the room in a heavy silence with all of the possible implications of his words. This was unbelievable and left many people in shock and regret for the fact of not having this book sooner as to save so many more.

_If only we'd had this in 1980_, thought Sirius. _Then perhaps James and Lily . . . No. What's happened has happened and we all have to deal with its consequences. _Little did he know that much of the same thing was also being roughly pushed around in Remus's own head.

Remus kept his face stoic and impassive next to him, but his eyes told an entirely different story. They spoke of long years dealing with an exhausting physical and mental condition, of years spent dealing with unimaginable pain, loss, and suffering. He might not have had to face the same horrors as Sirius did day-in and day-out, but instead silently dealt with his own inner demons and fears alongside the tragedies that struck almost everyone nowadays.

"The future, and even the present, is unpredictable and any possible idea we might have on what might happen could be misleading. Meddling with time and its set course of events is incredibly dangerous and ill-advised. It is with great caution that I say we delve into reading and educate and prepare ourselves for what is to happen, with or without any changes."

No one dare spoke a word or take their attention from Dumbledore. "We must take this opportunity very seriously and think through our new courses of action. Time is a curious thing, and one must not overstep any boundaries." With that final validation, Albus smiled genially and sat down between Molly and Snape.

A calloused hand motioned towards Sirius to urge him to continue as the children grouped together on the back wall and whispered together in hushed tones. Merlin only knew what they could already see forthcoming to the adults.

Sirius cleared his throat and reopened to the first official page. "Part one, chapter one: the vanishing glass. . . **Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all," he began uncertainly. Everyone knew Harry wasn't fond of the Dursleys in the slightest and vise versa. The sun rose on the same tidy front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls."**

"Ah, that's right. I remember setting off fireworks the night we got the news and how there were owls flying all over the world to relatives and distant others," said Dedalus Diggle.

"And how appreciative we were, Dedalus, that you very nearly breached all of the Statute of Secrecy laws there were at the time," snapped Minerva McGonagall.

"It wasn't as if the Muggles knew what was happening anyway! What with their minds not being able to comprehend all of the magic floating around." Except he knew that that was the exact problem: all of the magic floating around in plain sight.

Sirius started again, **"Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets-but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother."**

"Were there no pictures of Harry ever put up?" inquired Tonks. She wasn't fond of the Durlseys herself, based off of what little she'd heard, but it just seemed strange for there not to be a single picture where Harry was even in the background.

Hermione, who was leaning against Tonks's chair, told her, "His relatives liked to pretend he didn't exist until they could no longer deny that he was living with them. They didn't want anyone to know there was another child besides Dudley living in the house because that would arouse suspicion."

Tonks looked mildly confused at the prospect but left the subject alone at the very least.

**"The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too." **Tonks again frowned.

**"Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day."**

"I can't imagine waking up to that every day," Ron spoke quietly to Fred, George, and Ginny. "I mean, it's bad enough with _you two_ in the house all the time." The twins just shared their signature mischievous look.

**"'Up! Get up! Now!'" **Sirius and Remus grimaced to themselves, wondering if Harry had experienced that same thing earlier that morning.

**"Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again."**

"Insufferable woman, really," muttered Ginny.

**"'Up!' she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one"**-_Which he must not get anymore_, thought Molly sadly-**"There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had the funny feeling he'd had the same dream before."**

Sirius absently grinned at that line, briefly remembering all of the times James, Lily, Remus, and Harry had ridden with him over the years. He genuinely missed his motorcycle. It represented a big part of his life as a fresh Hogwarts graduate and everything else he stood for: rebellion, Muggle antics, etc. It saddened him to think of where it must be now.

**"His aunt was back outside the door.**

**'Are you up yet?' she demanded.**

**'Nearly,' said Harry.**

**'Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday.'"**

Moody rolled his eye disdainfully after having the distinct pleasure of looking over her this summer while on guard duty. That particular Muggle family seemed to be the worst within a couple of blocks at the very least.

"And she doesn't even give him two minutes to collect himself," George whispered to Fred.

Albus watched the small, half-discreet exchanges between the children, trying to decipher how much they will have known that none of the adults did.

**"Harry groaned.**

**'What did you say?' his aunt snapped through the door.**

**'Nothing, nothing . . .'**

**Dudley's birthday-how could he have forgotten?"**

"Well, when does he _not_ forget specific dates?" Hermione muttered to herself, remembering all of the close calls they'd had the previous year during the Triwizard Tournament and how Harry tended to wait until the very last moment to do any sort of preparation.

**"Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them"**-to which Ron mentally grimaced-**"put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept."**

Most of the Order noticeably frowned at this and remembered one of their earlier, beginning conversations after the group had gotten back together about what was known about Harry Potter's home life since he was entrusted into the Dursleys' care. They all disagreed upon that predicament, most predictably Sirius, but Albus stood firm in his continued decision to keep Harry there each summer.

It had been a bit of a shock at first, for the Order to go over what minimal things they knew and to try and fill in the holes on the way.

Sirius's expression soured and he scowled at the pages, as if he could go back and do things differently like he so desperately wanted to. He couldn't imagine being locked in a cupboard for the better part of his childhood, but that was all Harry had known up until that point, which bettered his feelings about it, however small. Guilt constantly resided in his gut, and he remembered how angry he felt when this knowledge was first put up in the air.

None of the children gave off any indication of surprise or bad feelings, other than a slight flinch on Hermione's part, Albus observed.

**"When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike."**

"That's a spoiled brat if I ever saw one," Severus huffed.

**"Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise-unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him."**

The disdainful looks that were previously being thrown around turned to small smiles, each being able to picture Harry during Quidditch matches and around the castle with Ron and Hermione. All that is, except for Severus, who could only see a splitting image of James with Sirius and Pettigrew, with sad little Remus in the background, trying to act like he was being a notable prefect.

**"Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast."**

"So were we, don't you reckon?" Sirius said, more than asked, to Remus. He gave a small, uncharacteristic smirk in response.

**"Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age."**

"Well, I wouldn't have excepted anything less since he's James's son. Don't you remember how scrawny he used to be?" Sirius beamed.

Remus laughed. "He was the smallest out of all of us."

**"He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was."**

Molly closed her eyes quickly, thinking back to the day she first met him at King's Cross Station. He'd looked so small and nervous just asking for simple directions. It broke her heart to think about he was treated, because she knew it wasn't good.

When she locked eyes with Ron from across the room, she could easily tell that that was where his thoughts had wandered to also. Ron had an uneasy air about him that made her think he knew a lot more than he'd ever let on.

**"Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes."**

_Still does_, Sirius thought. _Or, at least he did the last time I saw him._

**"He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning."**

Hermione and Ron shared a confused glance. Neither of them had heard of this before. Even Albus looked to be contemplating something.

"I never would have thought that was what he liked the most," announced Ginny. All eyes looked towards her. "I mean, it caused him so much grief once he started going to Hogwarts. It's strange to think how a change from one world to another can cause that much of a difference in your life."

There was no doubt that everyone agreed with her. The staff and students all remembered the uncomfortable look Harry wore at the sorting and throughout the rest of his first year at Hogwarts. His second year things had calmed down slightly, but with the Chamber of Secrets being opened and everyone blaming him for it because of a past he had no control over had taken its toll, along with everything that had so far come afterwards.

**"He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**'In the car crash when your parents died,' she had said."**

Immediately many were initially outraged at the blatant disrespect shown to Lily by her sister, and James by his sister-in-law. Harry hadn't even known how his parents had died for the first eleven years of his life. He practically hadn't known a thing about himself or his history! Merlin knew what else they hadn't told him if he didn't even know the real reasons behind him becoming parentless.

"I cannot believe that they would keep that information from him!" Molly turned to Arthur. "I can't imagine," she trailed off. Arthur put his hand on her arm comfortingly. He was so very thankful for her and their children all being safe.

_Ah, yes. I seem to have forgotten to mention that_, Albus mused. He remembered Hagrid's visit when the sorcerer's stone was brought to him. Hagrid hadn't been too joyous that day, but relented the reasons behind it after a little push from himself. If he pushed aside his own guilt at being happy that Harry hadn't grown up spoiled and arrogant, then he wallowed in other guilt for the life he bestowed on the boy and all of the misdeeds he'd done him so far in this life.

**"'And don't ask questions.'"**

"That must have been why he was so quiet, if he was being told that every day," said Minerva to Albus. "He struggled in my class, and still does, but he never asks any questions."

**"_Don't ask questions_-that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**'Comb your hair!' he barked, by way of a morning greeting."**

"I can't _believe _they treated him like a house elf."

"Oh, come off it, Hermione," Ron told her. "You're not gonna go on and on about S.P.E.W. are you? I'm sure we'll hear enough about it already, but, if you insist."

Hermione stood up and reached over to lightly smack Ron across the back of the head. "How can you joke about this? It's not something to just laugh about! And besides, S.P.E.W. is a notable and worthy cause all in itself. Just because you can't imagine doing something for the rights of someone else doesn't mean we have brains the size of yours."

She was getting upset at the antics of everyone around her and they were still only on the first section! Hermione just wanted to have Harry there with them. She felt like a horrible friend listening to his backstory and talking about him without him knowing.

"Merlin, sorry, Mione."

**"About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut."**

"The infamous Potter hair." Remus put his head in his hands. "Lily would be having a wonderful time trying to tame both James and Harry's hair."

**"Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way-all over the place."**

Hermione smiled at the mention of it, now being one of the things she noticed him by in crowds, and saw Ginny's slight blush. Her smile grew as she thought about the blooming crush Ginny still had on Harry.

**"Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head."**

"Well, that's attractive," joked Fred.

"Right you are, Freddie," George agreed.

Severus rolled his eyes. His lips set into an even deeper sneer. Oh, how he was not looking forward to the coming year, especially after having been forced to sit through this.

**"Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel-Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig."**

Ginny, Ron, and the twins all smiled and laughed lightly. Harry had always been fairly clever with his insults.

**"Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**'Thirty-six,' he said, looking up at his mother and father. 'That's two less than last year.'"**

"That's still a ton of presents," Ron murmured to Hermione, who was now lounging on the wall next to him.

**"'Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy.'**

**'All right, thirty-seven then,' said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over."**

"That's absolutely disgusting. I swear, parents don't teach their kids any respect or gratefulness now," Molly relented. "And Harry acts as if they don't feed him."

Tonks nodded after a thought. While working at the Ministry, she had seen her fair share of strange and disturbing things, most of which happened to be parents dealing with their children in the atrium.

Ron and the twins shared a startled look as a result of their mom's last comment, thinking back on their retrieval of Harry before Ron's second year, in which the three were still convinced he was, in fact, being starved.

Remus thought about his Slytherin students during his one year of teaching. Draco Malfoy had been dreadful, but could he really except any less from a Malfoy, the son of _Lucius_ nonetheless?

Severus looked to Albus to see his expression, but the man was sitting quietly and had a serene smile playing across his lips.

**"Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, 'And we'll buy you another _two_ presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? _Two_ more presents. Is that all right?'"**

Sirius frowned while reading of Petunia's nicknames for her son. He couldn't imagine what he would have said to James and Lily if they'd ever called him something like _popkin_.

**"Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work,"** Sirius read sarcastically. **"Finally he said slowly, 'So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . .'**

**'Thirty-nine, sweetums,' said Aunt Petunia."**

"-can't even do basic math," Hermione told Ginny. "You didn't go to a Muggle elementary school, but you can still do basic math and so can everyone else in this room. Well, everyone except for Ron, that is," Hermione added.

Said Weasley gave an indignant "Hey!" in response.

**"'Oh.' Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. 'All right then.'**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**'Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!' He ruffled Dudley's hair."**

Hestia Jones, who was sitting to the right of Arthur, sniffed with an air of distastefulness.

Severus, who could remember both Petunia and Lily, in which the latter still hurt to think about, could remember how she acted when they were kids and frankly wasn't surprised that her only child ended up with the mindset and attitude that he had.

**"At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**'Bad news, Vernon,' she said. 'Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him.' She jerked her head in Harry's direction."**

A sudden burst of irritation rose up in Sirius with how Harry's aunt and uncle treated him. They showed him no love and affection, which he deserved, and degrade him by the repeated misuse of his name.

**"Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away."**

"They don't even include him," Tonks stated quietly.

"They never have," answered Ron.

**"Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned."**

Sirius's body gave a small shiver at the mention of cats, for he thought all were dreadful creatures. Crookshanks was the only cat he bared to stand and who even tolerated him back.

**"'Now what?' said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this."**

"It's not like _he_ was the one who broke her leg," said George.

"I don't think they even care about that, Georgie. But there's a very small part of me that wishes he had," whispered Fred.

**"Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole before he had to look at Tibbies, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again."**

"I can't imagine either. Mione, your cat is enough for all of us here." Ron eyed the orange creature maliciously as he wove in and out of Hermione's feet.

"He's never done anything wrong to you, even when you accuse him of _your_ mistakes."

"He's just a cat-he doesn't have feelings, Hermione!"

Crookshanks glared up at Ron through eyes surrounded by balled up fur. Sirius thought how Crookshanks was the only cat he'd ever encountered and actually liked as he reached down to motion for the cat to walk over to him.

Hermione frowned, irritated at Ron's words on Crookshanks's behalf.

"And for good reason," George amended.

**"'We could phone Marge,' Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**'Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy.'"**

Remus looked slightly disgruntled. "Well, everyone just seems to hate poor Harry."

**"The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there-or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug."**

"A slug?" Severus asked derisively. "How strange, yet fitting."

Tonks glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, noticing Remus and Sirius both doing the same.

**"'What about what's-her-name, your friend-Yvonne?'**

**'On vacation in Majorca,' snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**'You could just leave me here,' Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer)."**

"That makes me sad-that he's so hopeful to just be staying home. They really didn't take him anywhere and never let him just grow up as he should have," Ginny told Hermione.

Hermione nodded and leaned back towards Ginny. "You wouldn't imagine, right? With the way Harry acts that he didn't grow up just like the rest of us, aside from the cousin, of course."

Arthur sent periodic questioning glances to Hermione, indicating a curiosity about all of the foreign Muggle devices. She just smiled at him, hoping to convey that her explanations would come later.

**"Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

**'And come back and find the house in ruins?' she snarled."**

_Such malice and venom_, Albus pondered thoughtfully. _And at such a young age. It's really no wonder . . ._

**"'I won't blow up the house,' said Harry, but they weren't listening."**

"In all honesty, Harry could blow up their house. He did have some rough experiences with accidental magic during his years before attending Hogwarts," Ron offered to Hermione, who just gave him a look as if to say "And how is that helping?"

**"'I suppose we could take him to the zoo,' said Aunt Petunia slowly, '. . . and leave him in the car. . . .'**

**'That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone. . . .'"**

"That's no way to treat a kid, especially one that can definitely take care of himself," Tonks pronounced sharply. She remembered her father in that instance, thinking back of the Muggle world he'd exposed her to as a child. Surely this kind of mistreatment, even if it wasn't too severe, wasn't accepted in their community.

**"Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying-it had been years since he'd really cried-but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted."**

"Pathetic," Molly declared spitefully. "That's just pathetic. How can they let their son act like that? It's as if they have no respect for themselves or for anyone that has to deal with that _Dudley_ of theirs."

She turned an accusing finger to her own children, all in various spots around the room. "I would have never let any of you act like that-EVER," she huffed out.

Albus put a gentle, placating hand on her forearm. "I'm sure Dudley's grown up and became a different person. We must allow room for hope and maturity, Molly."

Arthur nodded approvingly, although unsurely, as if not quite being able to believe that himself.

**"'Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!' she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**'I . . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!' Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. 'He always sp-spoils everything!' He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms."**

Remus frowned down at the book next to him.

"That vile child," Sirius growled.

**"Just then, the doorbell rang-'Oh, good Lord, they're here!' said Aunt Petunia frantically-and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once."**

"Wow," George commented. "What a nice, honorable friend he must be."

"And little _Dinky Duddydums_ has to keep up his faithful reputation. Such fine gentlemen," Fred said.

**"Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck"**-"What's that supposed to mean?"-**"was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside."**

"You don't have to threaten him every time you take him somewhere," Ginny uttered contemptuously.

**"'I'm warning you,' he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, 'I'm warning you now, boy-any funny business, anything at all-and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.'"**

Many people were becoming visibly uncomfortable or severely irritated at that comment. Sirius sighed lowly and briefly massaged his temples. This reading was only stirring up memories, equally good and bad.

He was constantly conflicted with himself. Sirius had only wanted the best for Harry, but, even half of a single chapter in, he realized how little he knew about his godson. It saddened him to think about all of the lost time they'd had and how this was the way he was making up for it without Harry knowing; one look at Remus revealed that he felt the same.

Remus knew that, upon giving the chance years ago, if he'd been able to smack himself out of his guilt and agony successfully, then he would have picked Harry up at the first given moment. He found himself blaming his werewolf condition once again, for keeping Harry from him for so long, even though he secretly knew that the real fault only lied within his mind and choices.

_Sirius would have given everything to have gotten Harry_, Remus thought, _but would I have done the same? Or would I have decided to wallow in my own feelings instead? Have left Harry there to fend for himself with those blasted relatives?_

He tried to shake himself out of his stupor as Sirius began again.

**"'I'm not going to do anything,' said Harry, 'honestly . . .'**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen."**

"That would be the accidental magic," Albus noted. Severus caught his eye deftly.

Ron grinned at the thought of the horror the Dursleys would have felt, but the grin fell when he also thought about the repercussions that would have befallen his best friend because of it.

**"Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left 'to hide that horrible scar.'"**

"He doesn't need everyone making him even more self-conscious," Ginny muttered.

"Maybe that's why he loved it back then, because his aunt and uncle hated it," Ron cut in.

Hermione smirked. "I think you might actually be on to something there."

**"Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses."**

Severus was struck with nostalgia, but didn't immediately know why.

**"Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he _couldn't_ explain how it had grown back so quickly."**

"What kind of punishment is that?" exclaimed Tonks. "A week locked in a tiny, little room? That's not solving anything! That's child abuse!"

Those last two words seemed to make everyone freeze up. _Child abuse?_ _But surely_, the Order thought, _it couldn't have gotten _that _far._

Sirius and Remus shared a look, as did the Weasleys and Hermione. Ron, Fred, and George knew what exactly they had seen during the summer of 1992. Yet, no one wanted to take the extra step and make things official. No one wanted to label the maltreatment of the Dursleys on Harry as child abuse.

Remus shuddered as he looked away from Sirius. He leaned back and waited for Sirius to continue, not wanting to ponder that particular idea for much longer. Only, he knew that, with the beginning of each section of the volume, Harry's treatment would probably only get worse.

It were the times like these when he wondered why he had never inquired more about the Dursleys when he taught Harry and personally met with him to teach him the Patronus Charm. He'd already failed in the prospect of giving Harry a childhood he deserved, and now he felt like he failed in being someone Harry could faithfully trust. Sirius felt much of the same way.

And it was at that time, when Tonks blurted out those two words, when Severus's eyes turned stony, much in a similar manner to Sirius's own eyes. Each had their fair share of harmful memories they wouldn't admit to.

Sirius started again slowly.

**"Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls)."**

All of the Weasley children couldn't stop the years of Christmas sweaters from their mum from coming forth.

**"The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry."**

**"Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished."**

"He should have never had to feel that way," Sirius mumbled.

"Shame on them for making it turn out that way," Remus agreed.

Sorrow creeped into Albus's eyes as he heard the comments that were thrown around the room. Harry never openly expressed his true feelings for the Dursleys at Hogwarts to anyone, really, and he couldn't blame him. It's not like he'd been there for the boy in the first place.

**"On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney."**

"That's some serious accidental magic right there," spoke Diggle, trying to diffuse the tension settling over the room.

"I think you'd be surprised at how far an act of accidental magic can take a young witch or wizard when they feel threatened, either consciously or unconsciously," Albus responded.

**"The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors."**

"It must have been hard, being locked in all the time," Hermione said.

"And, to top it all off, he had no idea what was going on. Did you feel that way, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"No, not really. My acts of accidental magic were much simpler. I was never running from bullies at school or in a place where I needed to save myself from something serious. Mine were usually among a glass being dropped and lowering itself carefully onto the ground or a force allowing me to reach a paper on a shelf I wasn't tall enough to reach."

Ginny chuckled at that, being able to picture her friend not being able to reach her desired book or paper.

**"Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump."**

"Possibly," Fred began.

"After all," George continued.

"Our Harry is,"

"Very, very scrawny,"

"Which makes him,"

"The perfect friend,"

"For you, Ron," finished Fred with a wide grin.

"Oh, bugger off. I am NOT scrawny. It's you two that are tall and as thin as sticks with long legs and arms," he fired back.

"Boys," warned Molly, and they straightened up, not wanting to be kicked out this early on, but fully prepared for it later.

**"But today, nothing was going to go wrong."**

"I say that's a hard pressed possibility," Moody grunted.

**"It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room."**

"Yes, I would pass that opportunity along any day," Ron said.

**"While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles,"** Sirius read with a slight, evil smirk at the end.

**"'. . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums,' he said"**-Sirius quite liked his phrasing-**"as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**'I had a dream about a motorcycle,' said Harry, remembering suddenly. 'It was flying.'"**

Ginny laughed at Harry's blatant admission. "I'll bet that was the wrong thing to say."

"You don't say, little sister Ginny?" George asked sarcastically.

She stuck her tongue out in response.

**"Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: 'MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!'"**

"Oh, yes, they do!" Sirius stated proudly.

Remus laughed at his antics, fondly thinking of the old thing that was second to Harry as Sirius's pride and joy back as twenty-one-year-olds.

"Say, Moony, fancy seeing ole Cindy again?"

"Cindy? Sometimes I forget that's what you called her."

"Come on, after Cindy Crawford? The Muggle model?"

"Sirius," Albus began at Molly's scathing look.

"Alright, alright. Back to the story then."

**"Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

**'I know they don't,' said Harry. 'It was only a dream.'"**

"Not to your aunt and uncle, I'm afraid," Tonks said.

**"But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon-they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas."**

"Because Harry, who didn't even know he was a wizard at the time, is very dangerous to them. Okay, sure." Ginny smirked.

"See, Ginny, the history between Harry's aunt and uncle and his parents was rocky. They never saw eye-to-eye, and his aunt resented that, among other things," Remus told her. "I'm sure it'll be explained later on at some point."

She nodded, kind of embarrassed.

**"It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop."**

"At least he ended up getting something," Hermione said.

**"It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond."**

"Harry used to be so openly witty," George told Fred.

"I hope he'll come back into that this year."

**"Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him."**

"I still find it hard to be believe that Petunia and Vernon would let them do that, especially in public. You'd think they'd be too worried about their reputation to let those boys do that to someone else," Molly added.

"They're truly horrible people. My encounter with them last year was far from ideal," Arthur replied.

**"They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last."**

"I can't help but feel sorry that he couldn't control any of it," Ginny whispered.

"I feel the same way," Hermione responded.

**"After lunch they went to the reptile house."**

Ron frowned, already getting an idea of where this could be going. _The snakes wouldn't try to talk to him, right? Or would he . . ? No, he didn't know then_, he thought.

**"It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes"**-Albus smiled softly as he and Severus caught on-**"were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons."**

Ron stiffened. He didn't necessarily like snakes alongside his hate for spiders. "How nice, _man-crushing _pythons. It's a wonder he has an aversion to violence."

**"Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can-but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**'Make it move,' he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge."**

"How disrespectful," Tonks said. "Just leave it alone, before you regret it."

**"'Do it again,' Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**'This is boring,' Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself-no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long."**

"Sympathizing with a snake, how delightful," Severus murmured.

"He's going to start a conversation with the snake, isn't he?" Hermione asked herself, already knowing the answer.

**"It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house."**

_Oh, how _sweet _of him_, thought Severus. He, for some reason, was very bothered by the idea of Harry having his connection with this snake. It just didn't seem like it was right, even though that was truly just one of Harry's abilities, especially when comparing the snake's enclosure to his cupboard of a bedroom.

**"The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**_It winked_."**

"Snakes can't wink, can they? I thought they didn't have eyelids," Tonks proclaimed.

"No, they can't," Hermione answered. "And, of course Harry picks the largest, most dangerous snake in the entire zoo!"

_My Godson is about to have a conversation with a snake-wonderful_, thought Sirius.

Sirius looked up to see what Albus's reaction would be, but his expression refused to give anything away, still.

**"Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too."**

Remus chuckled at that.

Ron was bewildered. He couldn't remember Harry ever having mentioned this to him in all the time they spent sharing stories when they were supposed to have been sleeping, especially in third year. Then he remembered that usually Harry just listened to him talk and didn't share anything of his own, because he didn't have anything to share.

All of Harry's mostly happy and funny memories happened while he was staying with the Weasleys at the Burrow, and Ron would have been there to witness them right as Harry did.

He made a mental note to bring that up with Harry.

**"The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: '_I get that all the time_.'**

**'I know,' Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. 'It must be really annoying.'**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**'Where do you come from, anyway?' Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**'Was it nice there?'"**

"Aw, that's cute," Ginny muttered.

Hermione smiled at her once again.

**"The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. 'Oh, I see-so you've never been to Brazil?'"**

Ginny smiled. _That's considerate of him._

**"As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. 'DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE_ WHAT IT'S DOING!'"**

Tonks frowned. "Oh, no. This won't be good."

"Harry just needs to step away," Ginny told herself. "Then, when his cousin does something idiotic, Harry couldn't possibly be blamed."

**"Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

**'Out of the way, you,' he said, punching Harry in the ribs."**

"I don't know how Harry can stand not fighting back," Fred scowled. "We'd just reciprocate everything we did to Ron when we were younger."

"Yeah, because then he'd be incapacitated all of the time," Ron said.

**"Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened-one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor."**

"Nice going, Harry," George laughed.

Remus had a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm glad it wasn't worse than that. I suppose we should be expecting Dementors and such in the coming sections."

Albus lowered his gaze to the floor. "Perhaps," he spoke slowly.

**"People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, 'Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigo.'**

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock."**

"The poor guy's in charge and he doesn't even know how it could have happened." The twins laughed quietly.

"Start taking notes, Freddie. There's a lot we can learn here."

**"'But the glass,' he kept saying, 'where did the glass go?'**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death."**

"Never trust their stories, I say." George grinned playfully.

"And always allow the snakes a chance to get you first," Fred continued.

"If you thought a snake was going to attack you, why wouldn't you run from it? Especially if you're a Muggle that doesn't have a wand surrounded by other Muggles?" Ginny asked rhetorically.

**"But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, 'Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?'"**

Remus sighed in annoyance.

**"Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, 'Go-cupboard-stay-no meals,' before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy."**

"No meals? They're withholding food?" Tonks asked sharply. "And keeping him locked up at the same time? How cruel."

Ron locked eyes with each of the twins. "You should have seen him before our second year," he told her.

Sirius's irritation was slowly rising. The Dursleys shouldn't have ever been permitted to treat Harry like that. Someone should have been checking up on him. The only piece of mind he had for this summer was the constant presence of an Order member keeping tabs on him.

Severus wore a stoic expression, but was mildly surprised at this revelation. The mention of Harry's uncle going straight to alcohol at the slip of magic made him feel uneasy. It briefly reminded him of his own childhood and his Muggle father's drinking problem.

**"Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch."**

"He shouldn't have to be alone," Molly whispered to her husband. "He should be in his own room, comfortable and able to move around whenever he wants."

**"He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food."**

"Oh, Merlin," Ron murmured.

Albus pursed his lips slightly and looked upwards toward the cracking ceiling.

"He never was fed properly. Each year, he'd be even skinnier than he had the previous summer." Molly turned away from the table.

Sirius just leaned back and listened. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about the thought of Harry going without. Guilt flared up, but he pushed it away quickly. He mustn't dwell on it now.

**"He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash."**

The Order once again gasped softly. The irritation was quickly flushed back into everyone.

"James and Lily . . . They didn't die in a car crash!" Remus began. "How dare . . ."

Sirius felt his blood thrumming silently. His pulse moved to his head as he gripped the volume until his knuckles turned a very pale white. Yes, he agreed with Remus. _How dare they lie to Harry about his own parents' deaths and the reason he was there, stuck with them, in the first place?_

He took in a calming breath and tried to relax his muscles. _I wasn't there, and neither was Remus_, he thought. _I was in Azkaban and werewolves are forbid to have custody of children_.

Severus was struck with a shot of panic and deep, billowing irritation at Petunia. Her jealousy had gotten way out of hand during Lily's Hogwarts years, but he still found it slightly hard to believe, that there was no affection left for her late, beloved younger sister.

**"He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead."**

"I didn't know he had a memory of the accident," Hermione whispered to Ron, who shrugged in response.

"I suppose that's what he saw with the Dementors in third year?" he proposed. Hermione nodded.

Albus's eyes crinkled. He was getting an inkling of an idea, of Harry's scar, and what it could mean. The mystery of the Killing Curse and that fateful night forming a pattern . . .

Remus inwardly cringed. He didn't know exactly what Harry'd seen, but if this was exactly what he was picturing and hearing during all of their Patronus lessons, then he wondered how Harry'd kept it so quiet. Remus wondered why he put Harry through all of that, only to remind himself that it ended up saving his and Sirius's lives.

**"This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all."**

_That's really sad_, thought Ginny. _I'm so lucky to have the family that I do, all breathing and alive._

But the Order hadn't expected anything different. Harry had only been a baby. How many memories could have moved with him from such a young stage?

**"His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house."**

"We'll have to make sure to go through some things upstairs. I should have some scattered around and in my bedroom," Sirius said to Remus.

Remus smiled grimly. "Yeah. I know I have pictures, too."

**"When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away"**-Sirius and Remus visibly sat back, guilt ripping through them both-**"but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him."**

Minerva gave another look to Diggle, who grinned sheepishly.

"I only ever saw him a couple of times throughout the years, most of which, were in the middle of London and were recent."

**"Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus."**

"That wouldn't be Rita Skeeter, right, Mione?" Ron asked her.

She scowled. "I sure hope not. That woman is dreadful."

The twins gave a quiet, synchronized "Hear, hear" in response, making Ginny laugh.

**"A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word."**

Diggle had the decency to look mildly embarrassed. He couldn't even remember why he'd been in the Muggle area in the first place.

**"The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang."**

"Oh, how things have changed," George said jovially.

"And in such a short timespan," Fred said.

"Is that the end of the chapter, Sirius?" Albus asked.

"Yeah, the end of the first one," he replied gruffly.

"Alright. Then shall we move on to the next one?"

"Gladly," spoke Remus.

He reached for the volume and took it from one of Sirius's outstretched hands. He turned to the next chapter, ready to move on from the dismal ending of the past one.

**I just want to reiterate that this story will be written like a regular fanfiction novel, but its main purpose is to be something I can come to when I don't feel like working on my other works and need something already kind of majorly set up to still keep myself writing but not have to continually plan it out and stress over making the right plot decisions, etc. This meaning that I will be giving it my full attention when writing it, but I won't be trying to focus on it all the time like I will be my other novel (singular at the moment).**

**I will, however, be getting through a few chapters of this before trying to start focusing on my other book.**

**I'm sorry if this disappoints some of you, but please keep in mind that I will not just be leaving it off if I'm not updating it. It just means that I'm doing really well and am writing my other books. But, if I do find myself doing this too much (I can't imagine that would ever happen), but if it does, then I shall try to come back and do a few chapters.**

**Also, I have an idea for a short story/one-shot type of thing in mind. I'm thinking fivish short parts at the moment. Let me know if that sounds mildly interesting to you! I think I'm going to do it regardless, but I'm just curious.**

**And who knew doing these chapters would end up taking so long and actually being compromised of soo many words in the first place? Before I was even halfway done with this chapter, I was already at 5,000 and some words. That just seems crazy to me. Just a heads up for future notice: I will be writing in full intermission chapters every so often (probably every fivish chapters).**

**Thanks! So nice to see you again. (Approx. 9448 words)**

_**\- Ashlynn**_


	4. The Journey from King's Cross Station

**Hello, everyone! And we're back. I keep going through spurts, whether quarantine is happening or not. I've been rooting through the first book to decide which chapters should be included.**

**My solution to the events that occur outside of these chapters is: add dialogue between the characters reading the books in order to make the characters have more expressions.**

**When I was first writing the second chapter of the first book in, I had such a hard time in finding what worked with the characters and what didn't. Everything had happened already, and I wasn't willing to just have them repeat everything sixteen-thousand times over! So, we're here, doing this. I realize that I have skipped quite a few chapters at this point, but I honestly didn't think they were that important. For the moments Harry thinks back to the earlier chapters, I'll have Ron and Hermione explain what they know of it, if anything at all.**

**Thanks and enjoy the chapter! Hopefully more to come soon since I feel very inspired. We have some catching up to do!**

**P.S. I couldn't fit the entire title into the chapter title thingy. So, I altered it.**

**_2_ \- The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**

_**Book 1, Chapter 6**_

Remus enjoyed the feel of the pages between his nimble fingers. The feeling seemed much more foreign to him now than it should have.

With a quick visual sweep across the crowded basement kitchen, Remus picked up where Sirius left off with, "Part one, chapter two: the journey from platform nine and three-quarters." He shared a brief grin with Sirius. _This ought to be somewhat interesting._ **"Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him-in fact, they didn't speak to him at all."**

"What's happened since the first chapter?" asked Tonks. "Did Harry do something to him, or am I just missing the general idea?"

Albus leaned forward keenly. "No, Nymphadora"-Tonks visibly shrunk back at the name in irritation-"I'm sure the volume will skip some parts of the young Harry's life. I'm afraid not everything can be discussed in a timely manner. In order to finish these bits of text before the events we're trying to change unfold, we must move quite quickly."

Severus's lips twisted into a sharp grimace from his seat next to the Headmaster. Oh, he couldn't imagine. . .

Hermione came forward then. "From what Ron and I have heard from Harry, his first months knowing he was a wizard were strange." She looked to Ron for assistance. "Harry knew hardly anything about his parents or what had happened before Hagrid showed up at their residence."

"Hagrid?" Sirius asked bemusedly. "Hagrid delivered Harry's letter in person?"

"Sort of," said Ron. "The Dursleys were very irritated when it came to Harry knowing he was a wizard and that he could have had some sort of pull over them. When Harry was kept from responding to his letters, the Dursleys moved around to try to stop the flow of letters that kept going into their house."

Minerva smiled nostalgically. "That year was tough in terms of delivering the letters. Between Muggle-borns not understanding how anything worked and Harry Potter not responding to his letters for days on end, it sure made for an interesting break for Filius and I."

Hermione blushed at the comment. She, herself, had not understood at first. It was only when Professor McGonagall appeared on her doorstep a few hours later and had gotten through a lengthy explanation while answering a multitude of questions from her and her parents had the realization finally begun to set in.

Remus had a thoughtful look upon his face. "Well, what did Harry know before he went to Hogwarts for his first year?"

"Not much," Ron admitted. "He was very surprised at everything. He once told me that he didn't even know the real reason behind his parents' deaths until Hagrid came to get him."

Sirius and Remus were baffled, as was everyone else in the room. It seemed odd to them that, even though Lily and Petunia weren't close in the end, she hadn't told him the truth about why he was an orphan and stuck with them in that miserable little house.

The two Marauders shared an incredulous look. Remus thought back on his meeting with Harry during their third year, somewhat recalling what they had talked about before Severus had interrupted their conversation. He can recall that he wasn't pleased about it-both the interruption and the information Harry let slip.

"On the bright side," began Ginny, "at least he wasn't locked up for the rest of the summer. _That_ would have been dreadful."

Despite the darker meaning behind the youngest Weasley's words, the room's occupants found it in themselves to smile at that. She was right, even if they didn't all want to admit it just yet.

Sirius perked up slightly. "He was out of it after he received his Hogwarts letter, was he not?" Hermione nodded.

Remus stiffened and started on the book again. **"Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while."**

"What did he do?" asked Dedalus curiously.

"You know," stated Hermione, "I'm really not quite sure. Ron?" He shook his head in response. Hermione turned back to Diggle. "He never mentioned it. I don't know if he did something or someone else, but his relatives don't appear to be happy about it."

Albus smiled with a knowing expression, one that Severus was used to seeing on the old man's face. It irked him to know that Dumbledore knew what had perspired yet he wasn't sharing any information.

Mad-Eye caught on to this as well, and he joined Snape in observing the man with shadowed eyes.

Albus, whether he felt their gazes upon him or not, didn't acknowledge their probing stares.

**"Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company." **Hermione and Ginny smiled. At least he had someone to keep him from feeling quite to lonely. They were relieved that he'd been moved out of the small cupboard ever since he'd his letter. **"He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in **_**A History of Magic**_**. His school books were very interesting."**

"I bet that was the only time he ever bothered reading them," uttered Snape darkly.

Sirius glared at him without reason. After all, he'd never read his school books until they were asked to during class for an assignment, and even then, it wasn't uncommon for him to slack off. Moony was the only one out of the bunch to even care about the summer reading and homework.

Hermione stifled a chuckle.

**"He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swopping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice."**

"What, does she start neglecting cleaning the room now that he lives in it?" George asked his twin.

"I guess so, George. Why, that _vile_ woman!"

**"Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first."**

_How pathetic,_ thought Snape.

**"On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room."**

"How dramatic of him," Fred whispered.

"Oh, because you're so much better," retorted Ginny.

Fred raised his hands in surrender. He'd plead guilty.

**"'Er-Uncle Vernon?'**

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening."**

"How crass," muttered Molly to her husband. He seemed like a truly dreadful man to be around, let alone have to live with and tolerate.

**"'Er-I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to-to go to Hogwarts.'**

**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

**'Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?'**

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

**'Thank you.'**

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

**'Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?'"**

"How rude!" fumed Tonks. Her hair promptly changed to a dark, crimson red that starkly resembled one of the Gryffindor house colors. "That's a myth, as the majority of your assumptions also are."

Minerva could not deny that even she was annoyed on the inside. He had no respect for the dead or those unlike him. Anyone different was going to hell. It was for those people, Muggle and wizard alike, that she refused to muster up respect for.

**"Harry didn't say anything.**

**'Where is this school, anyway?'**

**'I don't know,' said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**

**'I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock,' he read.**

**His aunt and uncle stared."**

"Of course," Remus mumbled. "They're not going to help him." He sighed deeply and gave the book a long stare.

**"'Platform what?'**

**'Nine and three-quarters.'**

**'Don't talk rubbish,' said Uncle Vernon. 'There is no platform nine and three-quarters.'**

**'It's on my ticket.'**

**'Barking,' said Uncle Vernon, 'howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother.'"**

Sirius and Remus grinned at each other at the mention of an inside joke, even though every occupant at the table was aware of what it'd meant. They received immense amusement from the words, especially since they were spoken by the Muggle Harry called his uncle.

"Barking, howling mad, Moony. Did you hear that?"

"Why, of course, Padfoot. How could I miss it?"

The two shared another small laugh before regaining their fleeting composure. It was all they had to keep them smiling. Harry's uncle wasn't exactly a ball of sunshine worthy of praise.

**"'Why are you going to London?' Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

**'Taking Dudley to the hospital,' growled Uncle Vernon. 'Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings.'"**

As he read, Remus became increasingly confused at the prospect of Dudley suddenly having a tail.

Looking up, Sirius let loose a _barking_ laugh just as Minerva let loose a smile. The Weasleys all had varying degrees of mischievous grins on their faces with Hermione not much behind them.

"Do any of you know why Dudley suddenly has a tail?" Remus voiced his thoughts at the children.

Ron shook his head with an air of finality. They had no clue.

Albus smiled widely and waved his hands. "Alas, Hagrid seems to be the reason for our small entertainments."

"Small?" Sirius scoffed haughtily. "Trust me, Albus-this is not 'small entertainment.'"

"He's right," continued Fred.

"It's not everyday that your neighborhood bully gains a rather humiliating feature, right Fred?" George laughed.

Hermione thought they spoke from experience. She remembered their little trick while trying to put their names in the Goblet of Fire. _Oh, yes_, she thought wickedly, _they're definitely speaking from experience._

"Hagrid was the one to directly deliver Harry his letter when the Dursleys swept him away from their home in Privet Drive," Albus said, looking for a calming factor. "If I remember correctly, then Hagrid gave Dudley a tail after he'd done something. Given the fact that Hagrid isn't legally allowed to possess a wand, he overstepped, but was instigated from the moment he arrived at their temporary residence."

"What did the Dursleys do to agitate Hagrid?" Tonks asked.

Albus hesitated only a moment. "I believe Mr. Dursley had insulted my name, to which Hagrid reacted severely. Also, the Dursleys were not kind when speaking about the late Lily and James Potter in front of Harry. It was not appreciated."

Sirius's face grew dark. He took on a pained sort of expression at the unfriendly reminder of his best mate's death all those years ago. Mad-Eye watched him carefully from his position in the corner of the room.

Hermione grimaced as well, feeling deeply for her friend. She knew Harry never really knew them so it didn't hurt him as much, but she couldn't imagine losing her parents, especially at a time like this in the middle of what looked like another wizarding war.

Remus cleared his throat with a direct look at Sirius. Albus settled back down and finally acknowledged Severus's glare with a simple raise of the eyebrow.

"Hmm. **Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep,"** read Remus. **"He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes-he'd change on the train."**

"I assume Hagrid also took him to get his supplies then?" questioned Arthur Weasley.

A nod from Albus swiftly confirmed it.

**"He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up."**

"He sounds nearly as excited as I was." Hermione smiled faintly.

"I'll bet you were all over the place, Hermione. How did you get your supplies?" Ginny asked her wryly.

"Directions were in my letter," she began.

"They usually are for Muggle-borns," Minerva told her.

"After Professor McGonagall visited my family, we carefully found our way into Diagon Alley with the help of Tom and some other groups we came across. My parents were terrified, and so was I a little bit, but we got there eventually. We probably spent hours working out where to go for what, what it was I needed, and just looking at everything we could. My parents were baffled at the sight of everything-even the appearance of the buildings."

"That sounds like quite the visit, Miss Granger," Dumbledore amended.

Hermione blushed at the comment. For once she wasn't getting scolded by her teachers and was able to speak freely with them. Well, not quite as freely as she would to Ron and Harry, of course, but freer nonetheless. She'd always gotten a strange feeling when she saw her Muggle teachers during summer breaks, but there wasn't a sense of apprehension with her wizarding ones.

_As long as they don't mind_, she decided.

**"Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face."**

"Of course," mumbled Hermione. "There's always something, isn't there?" She asked to no one in particular.

Ron nodded in subtle agreement beside her. Having seen his fair share of what she meant in person only led him to fully know what she was indicating. Harry's uncle was a mean one, and that was putting it nicely.

They both knew how Harry finally managed to find his way onto the right platform.

**"'Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine-platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?'"**

Molly sighed in acute exasperation. "They don't have to mock the poor boy for everything either." She lifted a spoon leftover from the last meal. "I swear, he gets it enough at school as it is. The last thing he needs. . ." she trailed off.

**"He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

**'Have a good term,' said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do?"**

"Why, they can't just leave him there for Merlin's sake!" cried Molly once more. "I'll bet that Petunia woman knew how to get on the platform."

"She did," Remus told her. "She accompanied Lily for her first few trips to the platform. Plus Lily would have spoken about it when she was at home. There's absolutely no way Petunia didn't know how to get on the platform," he added bitterly.

He struggled with his own inner demons as a young Hogwarts student. He remembered how nervous-excited he was his first year, let alone how Harry must have felt being a wizard descended from a wizarding family that knew nothing about where he supposedly came from.

Remus would have lost his mind. Of this, he was completely sure.

Sirius shrugged offhandedly. "What could you expect from Petunia, Remus? We both met her once, and once was enough," he said with a gruff voice.

Albus steered his eyes towards Remus. "Remus, if you will. . ."

"Oh, yes, of course. **He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone."**

"If only that were your only problem now," Hermione said. Snape scoffed at her.

**"He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters."**

"That's a relief," Mad-Eye Moody let out. "Could have started a real problem right there."

**"The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country is was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose."**

_I, for one, definitely wouldn't hesitate to put it past him,_ thought Severus with a bitter feeling burning in his throat.

**"Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters."**

"That's poor of him. The least he could have done was help Harry straighten things out," Hestia Jones said.

**"Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl."**

"I mean, if he really got desperate, he could always start running at the walls," Fred said. He shared a look with George, who laughed in remembrance. "After all, that's what we used to do before our first year," he added goofily.

Ginny sighed at Hermione. Neither of them had the energy to spare on the twins' antics at the situation. To be completely honest, Hermione couldn't say she was surprised at the revelation. If anything, it only solidified her opinion of how the twins were incapable of intelligent thoughts relating to anything other than a twisted sort of strategy.

_Strange creatures they were._

**"Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten."**

"At least he isn't completely hopeless," Mad-Eye stated. He didn't sound impressed in the slightest.

Minerva shot Albus a look. "And Hagrid is diligent, is he, Albus?"

Albus raised a placating hand. "Minerva, I assure you that Hagrid sometimes forgets _minor_ details-just like the rest of us," he added when he saw his colleague start to speak again.

"Minor details?" Severus asked. "How to board the train is a minor detail, is it?"

Albus smiled in reassurance. "Of course. Someone would have retrieved him either way."

Minerva mumbled her doubts.

**"At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**'-packed with Muggles, of course-'**

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him-and they had an **_**owl**_**.'"**

"And so we make our entrance." Fred grinned broadly. "What do you think, dear brother?"

George elbowed his side. "Why, Fred, I think Harry's a bit baffled, don't you think, Ron?"

Ron shrugged and slumped backwards. _And so we make our entrance, George had said._ _Yes, yes I guess we do._ He thought back to that day. It dawned a very sturdy friendship, that was for sure. Well, at least until Ron turned into a huge git last year.

Molly flushed a little at Harry's description of her. She wasn't ashamed, per say, just flustered a bit.

"It took the owl to be the defining point?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"I guess so," Ginny answered back.

Arthur wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. He slowly stared at all of his children, biological and surrogate. At this point, Hermione and Harry were both practically his children as well.

Sirius smiled wistfully next to Remus, who noticed his friend's strange expression.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?"

Sirius glanced up, surprised. "Tell ya later."

With a nod of reassurance from his friend, Remus started anew. **"Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**'Now, what's the platform number?' said the boys' mother."**

"Hey, Gin. Weren't you with us too?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, I was. Harry must not have noticed me yet."

**"'Nine and three-quarters!' piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, 'Mom, can't I go . . .'"**

Ginny blushed. She remembered all too well what her main focus had been at that point. She was the whiny ten-year-old baby sister to six brothers. She couldn't imagine how they'd all managed to put up with her.

Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a look that quite obviously said, "I swear you haven't changed a bit, Ginny."

She knew Hermione was teasing her, but the look irritated her. It had taken her far too long and too many odd experiences to get out of that stage in her young life.

Molly Weasley also smiled in gentle remembrance of the situation. After the fact, she found herself wishing Arthur had been with her. If only the Ministry hadn't kept him for work, then and now.

**"'You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first.'**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten."**

Molly quieted an angry sniffle. Merlin did she love her son, but how he'd left them. _Just the thought. . ._

Order members from around the room that weren't as familiar with the situation looked at her weirdly. Realization dawned in their squinted eyes not much later as they finally put all of the pieces together.

**"Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it-but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished."**

_How utterly pathetic this is_, thought Snape. _Out of everything I could be doing, I'm stuck here for this rubbish_.

**"'Fred, you next,' the plump woman said."**

Ron frowned at the mention.

**"'I'm not Fred, I'm George,' said the boy. 'Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you **_**tell**_ **I'm George?'**

**'Sorry, George, dear.'**

**'Only joking, I am Fred,' said the boy, and off he went."**

"Classic!" the twins said at the same time. They high-fived eagerly at the appraising look shot at them by Sirius and Remus.

"I knew." Molly shook her hand at them. "I know how to tell you apart. I always have."

Ginny smiled at the irony. It surely wasn't the first, nor the last, time the twins had pretended to be each other, or one had taken the identity of the other. If they didn't correct someone when recognized by the wrong name, they'd play the part and lead them on. All through their Hogwarts years they'd been confusing students and teachers.

Well, all teachers except for the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Snape of course.

Ron scowled at this, thinking along the very same lines as Ginny. By the look on Hermione's face, she wasn't too far off either.

**"His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone-but how had he done it?**

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier-he was almost there-and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere."**

"That's what I call magic, Fred," George said.

"Oh, I'm sure," mumbled Hermione.

"What's that, Hermione?" Fred teased. "You know what our magic is?"

"That's not what I-"

"_Of course_ it is, Hermione! You'd know all about it, wouldn't you?" George asked her with a fake flirtatious wink.

Hermione blushed at the extremely slight innuendo and at George's flirting, even if it was fake. Ron didn't hesitate in smacking his brothers rather harshly at their teasing.

Most of the adults looked on fondly. The twins sure did joke, but it wasn't without reason (usually, anyway).

**"There was nothing else for it.**

**'Excuse me,' Harry said to the plump woman."**

"He always was so polite, even for an eleven-year-old," Molly whispered.

Arthur agreed wholeheartedly, thinking back to when Harry Potter mystically appeared in his kitchen before Ron's second year.

Sirius and Remus, each viewing the exchanges, felt their hearts ache just a little bit. They'd missed out on precious moments of Harry's life. Despite what many think, Remus didn't care about Harry solely because he's James's son, and neither did Sirius. Sirius sometimes had a more difficult time distinguishing between the two at the best of times, but he knew his late best mate was not the same person as his godson.

**"'Hello, dear,' she said. 'First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too.'**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose."**

Ron blushed scarlet. He listened angrily at the twins' laughs.

"You know, I'll bet you two weren't any different when _you_ started Hogwarts. For Merlin's sake." He mumbled the last part.

"Nonsense, Ron. I bet they were a lot taller than you were," Hermione supplied.

Ron's blush only grew to the tips of ears at Hermione's words. Ginny winked at Hermione, and they both fell back.

The twins laughter raged onward.

**"'Yes,' said Harry. 'The thing is-the thing is, I don't know how to-'**

**'How to get onto the platform?' she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

**'Not to worry,' she said. 'All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron.'"**

"Did you ever wonder why nobody was with him, Molly?" Sirius asked.

After giving Sirius a look of slight contemplation, she nodded. "I always did wonder why, even when I found out who he was. I always figured there'd be someone with him for his first year."

Sirius nodded and relaxed.

**"'Er-okay,' said Harry.**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble-leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run-the barrier was coming nearer and nearer-he wouldn't be able to stop-the cart was out of control-he was a foot away-he closed his eyes ready for the crash-**

**It didn't come . . . he kept on running . . . he opened his eyes."**

"He surely does know how to make everything sound dramatic," Snape said.

"That I can agree with," said Mad-Eye Moody. Tonks nodded her ascent too.

**"A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words **_**Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**_ **on it. He had done it."**

"I remember the feeling of seeing the train for the first time," Remus said. "It gave me a feeling that I could never possibly forget."

Minerva smiled at him from across the table. She could figure she'd felt much the same of what he vaguely described. The train was quite new back when Minerva attended Hogwarts.

**"Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, 'Gran, I've lost my toad again.'"**

"Neville, always losing _everything_." Hermione smiled.

Remus silently agreed with her. Even in his defense class, Neville constantly lost things. He could only wonder what Neville managed to lose and hold on to.

**"'Oh, **_**Neville**_**,' he heard the old woman sigh.**

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

**'Give us a look, Lee, go on.'**

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg."**

Ron suppressed a shudder at what was surely a spider, and it was probably a big one too, if Harry's description was anything to go off of.

**"Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot."**

"That bites." Sirius grimaced. "Done that once or twice myself, even after Hogwarts," he mumbled.

Remus snorted. He could clearly remember all of the times Sirius had done that in the middle of one of their terms. "It was definitely way more than once or twice, you liar," he muttered so only Sirius could hear me.

Sirius didn't respond. He only gave Remus a cheeky grin before resuming an observation of the children.

**"'Want a hand?' It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

**'Yes, please,' Harry panted.**

**'Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!'**

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**'Thanks,' said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes."**

"Here goes," George said.

"Yup," said Fred.

**"'What's that?' said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

**'Blimey,' said the other twin. 'Are you-?'**

**'He **_**is**_**,' said the other twin. 'Aren't you?' he added to Harry."**

"And there they go, always alternating between small sentences," Hermione announced.

"We have to, Hermione."

"It's _our_ thing."

**"'What?' said Harry.**

**'**_**Harry Potter**_**,' chorused the twins.**

**'Oh, him,' said Harry. 'I mean, yes, I am.'"**

"How eloquent of Potter," spat Snape. Albus shot him a glance.

"And how bluntly rude you two were!" Molly pointed a finger at the twins. "_Staring_, I'm sure."

"He needed our help, Mom!" said George.

"Yeah, we were only helping him."

Molly sighed and shook her head at their antics. Honestly, she couldn't find it in herself to be surprised or upset with them.

**"The two boys gawked"**-the twins winced as their mother's stare only hardened-**"at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

**'Fred? George? Are you there?'**

**'Coming, Mom.'**

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**'Ron, you've got something on your nose.'"**

Hermione looked at Ron with her eyebrows slightly raised in a very McGonagall-like fashion. Her head tilted to the side as she recalled the similar words she'd said to him not too long after that.

She shamed a blush out of him. Ron avoided her eyes and stared straight at Remus while waiting for him to read.

Ginny looked to Hermione curiously, to which she only replied, "You'll see in a minute or two."

Ron's blush deepened at Hermione's words and also when he caught Snape glaring at him.

**"The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

**'**_**Mom**_**-geroff.' He wriggled free.**

**'Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?' said one of the twins."**

"You two are such prats," Ginny told the twins.

"Hey! That was a long time ago," George stated.

"I know. You _are_ such prats."

**"'Shut up,' said Ron.**

**'Where's Percy?' said their mother."**

Molly tensed at the reminder. She felt so childish when it came to Percy now.

**"'He's coming now.'**

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny red and gold badge on his chest with the letter **_**P**_ **on it.**

**'Can't stay long, Mother,' he said. 'I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-'**

**'Oh, are you a **_**prefect**_**, Percy?' said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. 'You should have said something, we had no idea.'**

**'Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it,' said the other twin. 'Once-'**

**'Or twice-**

**'A minute-'**

**'All summer-'**

**'Oh, shut up,' said Percy the Prefect."**

"That has a nice ring to it," scoffed Ron.

Ginny and Hermione couldn't help but agree.

**"'How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?' said one of the twins.**

**'Because he's a **_**prefect**_**,' said their mother fondly."**

Molly only sighed as the sentence was read. If she could go back, she wasn't quite sure if she'd have done anything differently. Percy was completely capable of making his own choices, that much was for sure.

_Still_, she thought, _I should have been able to do _something _to sway him back_.

**"'All right, dear, well, have a good term-send me an owl when you get there.'**

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**

**'Now, you two-this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've-you've blown up a toilet or-'**

**'Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet.'**

**'Great idea though, thanks, Mom.'"**

Sirius let out a genuine laugh at the dialogue. The twins beamed with pride at the sound.

Snape felt his lips curl back. He'd remembered all their pranks that should happen to deal with his own charges and the others he'd been unfortunate enough to witness while being in the vicinity. _That damned dog, only encouraging them._

**"'It's **_**not funny**_**. And look after Ron.'**

**'Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us.'"**

"It reminds you of how Harry's aunt spoke about his cousin, doesn't it? Dudley I think it was?" Ginny asked quietly.

Hermione nodded. "Like you said before: absolute _prats_."

**"'Shut up,' said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it."**

"See? I was almost as tall as you two were," gloated Ron.

"But look at you know, Ronnie," said Fred.

"Short and stocky, as usual," continued George.

"So even if you grow-"

"We'll always be taller than you."

Remus shook his head in fond exasperation, if that were plausible.

**"'Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?'**

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

**'You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?'**

**"Who?'**

**'**_**Harry Potter**_**!'"**

"Potter hasn't even been with them for twenty minutes, and his arrival is already being spread around," said Snape. "How _convenient_."

He promptly received a glare from both Sirius and Remus, as well as the children.

**"Harry heard the little girl's voice."**

"Merlin, you have _got_ to be kidding me," groaned Ginny.

"Aww, does someone have a little crush?" taunted Ron this time.

Ginny's blush spread to her hairline. "Ron-Ron _shut up_!"

Sirius and Remus were intrigued, as was Dedalus Diggle, for even though he was part of the Order of the Phoenix, he still thought highly of the press and their _opinions_ on the matter-the matter being Harry's lack of or indulgent of a love life.

It truly was pitiful then, in almost every way.

"What's Ron talking about, Ginny?" Remus asked boldly.

Ginny refused to meet his eye. This only served to make Sirius more determined to get a straight answer about it out of her.

Ginny's eyes roved around the room when she begrudgingly locked eyes with Sirius.

_Harry's godfather_, she reminded herself. "It-it was nothing. Just a stupid, little schoolgirl crush. That's it."

Hermione smothered a laugh with the back of her hand while Snape looked like he'd rather be anywhere but the kitchen.

Ginny flushed further at all of the attention.

"It was nothing, was it?" Sirius asked. He found himself to be genuinely curious. Ginny reminded her of a more forward, softer version of Lily. _That's no surprise_, he thought.

"Yes! It was nothing. Let's move on, please," she added in a whisper.

Severus rolled his eyes. He wore a distasteful expression; it was as if he'd just witnessed something incredibly foul.

Minerva and Albus shared a look. Hogwarts romances were no topic they hadn't dealt with before, except their encounters usually began with drunken students wandering the corridors and deserted classrooms around the castle.

"Alright. . . **'Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please. . . .'"**

_This is so embarrassing. Wait until they get to Harry's second year_, thought Ginny. She remembered her love poem to Harry and all that it entailed.

Sirius felt bemused. If he was being honest with himself, he could see Harry being interested in someone like Ginny. He'd have to mention it in passing later, see his reaction and all.

**"'You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?'"**

Molly flushed down to her roots. She hadn't remembered sounding so pitiful at the small mention of one Harry Potter.

It seemed as if all the Weasleys were having a field day at the train station.

**"'Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there-like lightning.'"**

"And how he hates that scar now, right Hermione?" Ron nudged her, already over her earlier words to him.

She let out a _hmph_ as her only reply.

**"'Poor _dear_-no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform.'"**

_And he still is_, thought Molly. She whispered to Arthur, "You know, I don't really mind the fact that he was listening in. It would be kind of difficult to miss it when we were right outside his windows. And there's the fact that he's suddenly surrounded by a world he knows nothing about."

**"'Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?'"**

Fred and George shrunk back uneasily. The question had sounded as harmless as it possibly could have at the time. Now though, right after the Triwizard Tournament, they _did_ feel like huge prats.

"We didn't ask him that, did we, Fred?"

"Not that I can recall. . ."

Albus discreetly watched them speaking together. He, himself, wondered what the young Harry faced in the beginning. The past year was really the first time he became directly involved and more forward in the boy's life.

Sure, Albus knew of most of the happenings in Hogwarts, except when it came to Harry and his friends. Somehow they always managed to evade his sly attempts at recognizing their plans. It would be foolish to think they weren't ever up to something, as Severus had so delicately put it on more than one past occasion.

**"Their mother suddenly became very stern."**

"And rightfully so," Tonks breathed out.

**"'I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school.'**

**'All right, keep your hair on.'**

**A whistle sounded.**

**'Hurry up!' their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry."**

"Ah, Ginny. See! I knew you missed us every term," said George.

Ginny swatted his arm. "A very small part, sure."

**"'Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls.'**

**'We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.'"**

All of the children laughed at that admonition. Leave it to pranksters Fred and George to get their baby sister to stop crying at their timely departure.

"_Did_ you ever send someone a toilet seat?" Sirius asked them.

The twins shared a glance. "Yes, but only once. It was to Harry while he was locked up in the hospital wing one year, I forget which one," admitted Fred with a sheepish smile thrown at his mother.

"Why was Harry in the hospital wing?" Remus asked.

"Probably for a Quidditch match or one of his nightly escapades," offered Ginny.

"Most likely," said Hermione.

Sirius smiled at the thought. He'd missed out on so much-sometimes it made him feel a little sad, even when he tried to block it out.

**"'_George_!'**

**'Only joking, Mom.'"**

"Except you weren't, apparently." Hestia smiled softly at the boys. She thought the entire situation was a bit comical.

The twins answered her with matching grins.

**"The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved."**

"Do you think it ever made Harry sad to watch us?" Ron asked his brothers.

They both shrugged. The thought never crossed their minds until Ron'd mentioned it.

"Maybe. But we always treated him like part of the family," said George.

"He was always like another annoying, younger brother." Fred looped his arm behind Ron's neck and pulled.

Ron thrashed and got himself free. "Wow. Thanks a lot."

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, the twins thought back to when Harry gave them his Triwizard earnings at the train station back in late June.

**"Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to do-but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in."**

"Get ready to get featured, Ron," Hermione told him.

"Just you wait. You'll be in not long after."

Remus looked on, curiosity burning through his veins at the thought of uncovering Harry's Hogwarts years. He knew it was only when Harry's friends appeared in the story that the real stuff was beginning to occur.

**"'Anyone sitting there?' he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. 'Everywhere else is full.'**

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose."**

"And so a great friendship begins," Sirius stated. "Reminds you a bit of how we all met, doesn't it, Moony?"

"I suppose it does, with you and James finding me at the back of the train." Remus smiled faintly at the old memories. They were certainly some of his greatest, and he'd forever hold onto them tightly.

Ron rubbed absently at his nose now, wondering how he'd gotten it in the first place way back then.

**"'Hey, Ron.'**

**The twins were back.**

**'Listen, we're going down the middle of the train-Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there.'**

**'Right,' mumbled Ron."**

"Are you afraid of spiders or something?" Sirius asked him.

Ron stood straighter and opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione beat him to it. "Oh, like you wouldn't _believe_," she said with a smirk.

Ron's head whipped toward her, and Hermione found herself leveled with a glare.

"You're such a traitor, Hermione."

Sirius and Remus winced a little.

"He would have found out about it anyway! Or have you forgotten our summer plans of cleaning out the house?" Originally she'd wanted to say, _"Because you're not?"_ but figured that was rather harsh. She'd seen last year without his best mate by his side. She knew how torn up about it Harry was, even if he tried not to show it.

Ron fell back once more.

**"'Harry,' said the other twin, 'did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then.'"**

"That's more mild that I'd have expected from you two," Ginny told them.

They scoffed good-naturedly. "We were saving the better parts for later."

**"'Bye,' said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

**'Are you really Harry Potter?' Ron blurted out."**

Said person blushed again. Hermione smiled at him this time.

**"Harry nodded.**

**'Oh-well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes,' said Ron. 'And have you really got-you know . . .'"**

"How dare you drag us in this, little brother!" Fred said while faking agitation.

"I didn't know what else to say. Besides, you're the perfect scapegoat."

**"He pointed at Harry's forehead."**

"I was a prat too, wasn't I?" Ron asked Hermione, who nodded. "I was just curious though. . ."

_Potter has even got his friends grovelling. How sweet_, thought Snape.

**"Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

**'So that's where You-Know-Who-?'**

**'Yes,' said Harry, 'but I can't remember it.'"**

"Did Hagrid tell Harry about Voldemort?" Ginny asked, ever the fearless one of the bunch.

Hermione and Ron released a slight shudder, as did Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones.

"He must have," Remus answered for them.

Snape watched them with cold eyes. Shivering at the mere mention of the Dark Lord. . . How pathetic it all was to him.

**"'Nothing?' said Ron eagerly.**

**'Well-I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.'"**

Remus and Sirius gave another wince here. Remus's lessons with Harry about fighting Dementors came forth in his mind, their conversations, what Harry saw and heard when the Dementors came near him. . .

He definitely remembered more than just green light.

**"'Wow,' said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again."**

"Now you're bashful?" Ginny asked Ron with a humorous tone.

"Not really." Ron shrugged at her.

**"'Are all your family wizards?' asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him."**

"I find that hard to believe," Snape muttered.

**"'Er-yes, I think so,' said Ron. 'I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him.'"**

Hermione turned towards Ron with disbelief written all over her face. "At that age you thought Muggles were some sort of taboo?"

Ron shifted nervously as he looked at her. "No, but-"

"That's what you make it sound like. 'But we never talk about him.' How nice of you."

"Well we don't talk about him!" Ron shot back, annoyed at the prospect of being interrupted.

Hermione just shook her head and turned back to Ginny.

**"'So you must know loads of magic already.'"**

"I'm afraid that's not know it works," murmured Tonks.

**"The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about."**

"The pale boy?" asked Ginny.

Hermione was thinking very hard about who Harry could have spoken to.

Then it hit her.

There was only one pale boy they all knew: Draco Malfoy.

"I think he's talking about Draco Malfoy, Ginny," stated Hermione.

"He met _Malfoy_ his first day in the wizarding world?" she asked incredulously.

"It seems like it," said Hermione with a grimace.

"That's strange to think since we would be the last family the Malfoys would consider one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Ron announced.

Ginny scoffed. "Probably."

Severus listened very carefully to their conversation. Draco often spoke to him since he wasn't as intimidated by Snape as much as the rest of Slytherins were. He knew they tried to hide it without any success, clearly.

**"'I heard you went to live with Muggles,' said Ron. 'What are they like?'"**

Hermione sharply arched an eyebrow at Ron.

**"'Horrible-well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers.'"**

"Harry's relatives do sound quite terrible," said Fred.

George grinned at him. "We would know, wouldn't we?"

Tonks shot them a questioning stare.

"See, we went with Dad to pick Harry up last summer-for the Quidditch World Cup," answered George.

"They weren't very happy with us when we left though," continued Fred.

Ginny and Ron snorted, having already heard the story a multitude of times.

Sirius looked to Remus. "Do you think Harry would have been the only kid James and Lily had?"

Remus's eyebrows scrunched together. "I don't know. Probably not."

Sirius nodded with a, "That's what I thought."

**"'Five,' said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy."**

"Do you not like us, Ron? What about poor Ginny?" George asked his younger brother.

"Ginny isn't my brother, George. Ginny isn't like you tossers," scowled Ron.

Molly watched him carefully. She'd known he had issues with being the youngest Weasley boy in the past, but he seemed to have gotten over it now. She genuinely hoped he had.

Ron meant no less or more to Molly than any of her other children.

**"'I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left-Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditich. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.'"**

"Don't let Bill or Charlie hear you saying that, Ronnie," teased Fred.

"I've never heard a more untrue statement in my entire life," said Ginny. "Fred and George getting really good marks? On what?"

"We're smarter than we look, Gin," George replied.

"You hardly took any O.W.L.S. What was your best subject?"

Fred opened his mouth to jokingly say, _"Potions, of course, Gin. What else?"_ before he remembered Snape was sitting in the room. Instead, he looked eyes with Lupin and said, "Defense, Gin. Right, _Professor_?"

Remus caught on immediately. He waved a hand at them. "Sure, sure. I did teach you during your O.W.L.S."

Remus ignored Sirius's snicker when Fred addressed him as professor and read on. **"'Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat.'"**

Sirius growled, sounding quite like a dog, at the mention of Percy's old rat. Albus raised a hand to massage the space between his brows. _Peter bloody Pettigrew._

"Things have gotten better though, right Ron?" Molly asked, seeking reassurance.

Ron blushed and felt guilt wash through him. After meeting Harry, he began to realize how fortunate he really was to have the family he did, the things he did, and to have grown up in an environment where everyone was there for the others.

"Yes, Mom. I was just being stupid."

Ginny nodded rather enthusiastically at this.

Remus looked over the line mentioning Percy's rat again. He wondered what Peter must have thought all those years so close to Harry. He wondered if he ever thought of harming him or if he moved past that until word of Voldemort had gotten around. After living with the Weasleys and being back at Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he surely wouldn't have missed any news.

"Stop thinking so hard," Sirius told Remus, noticing the slightly dazed expression on his friend's face. "You'll give yourself wrinkles and more gray hairs."

Remus scowled playfully and ignored him.

**"Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep."**

Ron shuddered at the reminder of the rat being so close to him. If he could go back in time, he'd chuck him out the window on the Express. The very thought of having him sleep with him at the Burrow and at Hogwarts disgusted him now.

**"'His name's Scabbers and he's useless,'"**-_You've got that right_, thought Sirius-**"'he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff-I mean, I got Scabbers instead.'"**

Ron mentally shook his head at his younger self. He would have kicked him if he could. He had no reason to be embarrassed about anything, especially in front of Harry.

Ron knew his parents were at least a little bit ashamed at not being able to provide for their children as much as they wanted to, but they still got by, didn't they?

He looked over at his parents to see them both blushing, each wearing an expression of shame. Guilt flushed through him _again_. He loved his parents, he was grateful to and for them, but he wished they would be able to get over their embarrassment just as he had.

**"Ron's ears went pick. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window."**

"It's interesting to hear how Harry felt about us back then. I mean, I'm excited for when we actually get to Hogwarts now. I really want to know what he thought about it," Hermione said, but then the tiniest bit of guilt flowed through her.

She felt like they were all going behind Harry's back by reading his thoughts and, essentially, his memories as well. In a way, there were doing just that, but she kept telling herself it was for a good reason: it was for change, so they didn't make whatever mistakes they would from here on out.

Even more so, she couldn't squash the growing curiosity inside her. With each thought they read, with each memory, she wanted to know more.

She acknowledged her curiosity as both a flaw and a good quality in herself.

**"Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up."**

Ron's entire head grew red. He was beginning to despise the very idea of blushing.

"He never got _proper_ birthday presents? What does that even mean?" Remus asked Ron and Hermione. Remus didn't personally fault Ron for feeling better at Harry's admission. If anything, it was good in his mind that they seemed to have a stronger bond because of it.

"Poor little Potter, didn't get dozens of birthday presents. The world is going to end for sure," Snape said sourly.

"Hey! You know what? Can you stop being a jerk for just a _little while_? Are you mentally incapable of treating Harry like a normal person?" Sirius asked his old classmate angrily.

"_Potter_ is despicable," was all Snape gave in response.

Albus looked at Sirius with eyes full of disappointment. Sirius was about to start yelling at Snape again when he saw those same eyes get pointed at the man himself next. The self-righteousness he had been feeling faded the tiniest bit.

Remus, too, saw Albus all but glare at the two grown men for the way Sirius was reacting. Mad-Eye Moody scoffed at the two adults.

At last Remus turned back to Ron and Hermione. The two avoided his eyes for whatever reason. At his unfaltering stare they said, "Harry never really got birthday presents before Hogwarts. His relatives don't like him much."

"That bit is completely obvious," Ginny said distastefully.

"What did he get?" Sirius asked them.

"Nothing worth receiving," Hermione told him. She figured he'd hear it from the volume at some point. She didn't want to be the one to tell him Harry only got socks and coat hangers. Even if it wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, she didn't imagine he'd be very pleased about it.

Fortunately Sirius let the matter drop not long after that.

**"'. . . and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort-'"**

Ron and Hermione, albeit embarrassingly, shivered. The twins had gotten over their issues with the name, as did Ginny. Dedalus Diggle looked positively faint. Hestia Jones rolled her eyes at them.

**"Ron gasped."**

"Way to be dramatic, Ron," said Ginny.

**"'What?' said Harry.**

**'**_You said You-Know-Who's name_**!' said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. 'I'd have thought you, of all people-'"**

"How considerate," Hermione told him.

**"'I'm not trying to be **_**brave**_** or anything, saying the name,' said Harry, 'I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn. . . .'"**-_How true_, thought Snape again-**"'I bet,' he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, 'I bet I'm the worst in the class.'"**

"Only in potions," laughed Hermione.

"No, no, that's Neville!" Ron said.

Then the two froze and slowly looked toward Snape who was doing his absolute best not to pay them any attention.

**"'You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough.'**

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, 'Anything off the cart, dears?'**

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars"**-Hermione face-palmed lightly-**"as he could carry-but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, and Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life."**

"He's really taking an inventory of all the candy, isn't he?" asked George.

"He said he skipped breakfast," replied Ginny. "And it would have been the first or second time he'd ever seen wizard sweets."

"Really makes your mouth water, doesn't it, Moony? I miss getting candy on the train before the feast," said Sirius.

"I definitely remember, Padfoot."

"What's a Mars Bar?" asked Ron.

"It's a chocolate bar with caramel and nougat on the inside," said Hermione.

"I'll have to try one sometime," said Ron with a frown.

**"Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts."**

"Who taught him how to pay with wizarding money?" asked Hermione. "Hagrid? The goblins taught my parents and myself on our first trip to Gringotts."

Ginny nodded in affirmation.

**"Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

**'Hungry, are you?'**

**'Starving,' said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, 'She always forgets I don't like corned beef.'"**

Molly smiled in apology at Ron.

Ron just smiled lightly back.

**"'Swap you for one of these,' said Harry, holding up a pasty. 'Go on-'**

**'You don't want this, it's all dry,' said Ron. 'She hasn't got much time,' he added quickly, 'you know, with five of us.'"**

Ginny smiled softly. They didn't mind.

**"'Go on, have a pasty,' said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten)."**

"That's how any amazing friendship begins," said Sirius with a proud smile. "With candy and food."

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius and turned the page. **"'What are these?' Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. 'They're not **_**really**_** frogs, are they?' He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him."**

"A lot of things still surprise you, definitely," Hermione said.

"I grew up with wizards and around Fred and George, but Hogwarts still surprised me," Ginny added.

**"'No,' said Ron. 'But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa.'**

**'What?'**

**'Oh, of course, you wouldn't know-Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect-famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy.'"**

"Five hundred cards before you even started Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, sounding just a little impressed.

"And counting," replied with Ron with a smirk.

**"Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He worse half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore."**

Dumbledore made a _hmm_ sound as he listened to Harry's description. It wasn't far off, if at all, he could admit.

Minerva smiled at him humorously.

**"'So _this_ is Dumbledore!' said Harry.**

**'Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!' said Ron. 'Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa-thanks-'**

**Harry turned over his card and read:**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**(CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS)**

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve used of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."**

Remus read, finishing with a nod in Albus's direction. His face showed no expression when Grindelwald's name was mentioned-it had been a while since then.

"Isn't tenpin bowling a Muggle thing?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, and quite a fun game it is, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore told her, to which she smiled at getting a response from the wizard on the card himself.

"It is quite fun, isn't it? Lily took us once, and I think James almost put a hole in the wall _and_ the floor," Remus said, earning a believing nod from Albus and a chuckle from Minerva.

Sirius laughed heartily at the memory.

**"Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

**'He's gone!'**

**'Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day,' said Ron. 'He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her . . . do you want it? You can start collecting.'**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped."**

"I swear, are you always hungry?" Hermione asked him.

"What can I say? I'm still growing, Hermione."

**"'Help yourself,' said Harry. 'But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos.'**

**'Do they? What, they don't move at all?' Ron sounded amazed. '_Weird_!'"**

Hermione and Ginny snickered at that, being able to picture his face perfectly.

**"Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon, he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcraft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

**'You want to be careful with those,' Ron warned Harry. 'When they say every flavor, they _mean_ every flavor-you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once.'"**

"Can confirm that," George said. His lips twisted into a disgusted grimace. "I'll forever remember the taste when I eat them. It'll never leave me," he added a dramatic whisper.

"What do you expect from wizards? Regular flavors? Of course not," Hermione told him.

"Why, that's harsh," Fred said. "I hope you get all the bad flavors from now on."

**"Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

**'Bleaaargh-see? Sprouts.'"**

Remus hesitated as he read the sound. He found it difficult to translate.

"Your diet must not be the best, huh?" Tonks asked Ron.

"Not particularly," Ron said sheepishly and put a hand on the back of his neck.

**"They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass,"**-"How's he know _that_?" asked Fred-**"coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills."**

Remus and Sirius, along with the other Hogwarts alumni, thought back on their own train rides. Usually they were pleasant, with lots of candy, games, and talking of summers.

**"There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful."**

Ron snickered quietly at the mention of Neville.

**"'Sorry,' he said, 'but have you seen a toad at all?'**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, 'I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!'**

**'He'll turn up,' said Harry.**

**'Yes,' said the boy miserably. 'Well, if you see him . . .'**

**He left.**

**'Don't know why he's so bothered,' said Ron. 'If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk.'"**

"Surely not," murmured Snape.

**"The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

**'He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference,' said Ron in disgust."**

"That would save us a lot of trouble, wouldn't it? Be better if he had," Sirius said, annoyed at the prospect. He, himself, had been so close to it. . .

**"'I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look . . .'**

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end."**

Ron suddenly felt very thankful he'd gotten a new, better one fit for him.

"Did your want work right?" Sirius inquired.

"Good enough," he said. "At least until second year. . ."

All of the children laughed then, knowing the story. Despite herself, Minerva also chuckled. Snape brooded even more at the memory of being the one charged with finding the insolent boys.

**"'Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway-'"**

"That reminds me!" said Sirius. "What's Harry's wand?" he asked.

Hermione thought for a moment, looking to Ron, who was no help, before it came to her. "Eleven inches, holly wood, with a phoenix feather core."

Sirius nodded his thanks, now looking thoughtful.

**"He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes."**

Fred and George watched Hermione carefully in order to see her expression. When they found what they were looking for (that she was the one at the compartment door with Neville), they said, "Welcome! Welcome, Hermione, where you hear about yourself from the third person and through Harry's eyes!"

She flushed but smiled back at them. If she was being honest, she was looking forward to this slightly. She was curious about what Harry thought of her, what the boys did in their dorm (since Ron had some pretty crazy ideas for the girls' dorms), and about how exactly his adventures by himself went.

**"'Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one,' she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth."**

Hermione leaned her head back against the wall. Of course, the teeth. Her worst nightmare when it came to her appearance back then.

**"'We've already told him we haven't seen it,' said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

**'Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then.'**

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback."**

"Eleven years old, and you still don't know how to be around girls!" roared Fred.

"You disappoint us," George added.

Ron fumed silently beside them. Hermione, to Ron's left, laughed. She remembered that encounter vividly.

**"'Er-all right.'**

**He cleared his throat.**

**'_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,_**

**_Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow_.'**

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

'Are you sure that's a real spell?' said the girl."

"Took the words right out of my mind," Sirius said.s

"Fred and George," Ron said pointedly, "gave me that _spell_."

**"'Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard-I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough-I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?'"**

Hermione half dropped her head into her hands. "My, I really was dreadful, wasn't I?" she asked Ginny.

Ginny chuckled and said, "Only just a bit."

Ron agreed completely, and he was sure Harry would too, if he was there.

**"She said all this very fast.**

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either."**

"This _is_ embarrassing," Hermione muttered.

"As if," Fred said, knowing that Ron never read his books.

**"'I'm Ron Weasley,' Ron muttered.**

**'Harry Potter,' said Harry.**

**'Are you really?' said Hermione. 'I know all about you, of course-I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_.'"**

"Yes, go and overwhelm him. He didn't even know he was _famous_," Ron told Hermione.

She nudged him with her elbow. "I was a bit forward, wasn't I? Not like you were any better though."

**"'Am I?' said Harry, feeling dazed.**

**'Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me,' said Hermione. 'Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it,"**-said man looked at her curiously-**"but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. . . . Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon.'"**

"Hufflepuff's not terrible, you know," said Tonks.

"You're about the only Hufflepuff I know that has fire in her, Tonks. Besides Amos, hey, Remus, remember Amos? Well, besides him, there were hardly any Hufflepuffs that had a spark. Quite disappointing if you ask me," Sirius told his distant cousin.

"Cedric was fiery too," Hermione said.

Everyone went quiet at the mention of the deceased student. Minerva went still, remembering the events before and directly after his death had occurred.

"Yes, I'm sure he was," Sirius whispered back to her.

To avoid the silence, Remus picked the book back up from where he'd laid it on the table. It felt significantly heavier than it had moments ago.

**"And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

**'Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it,' said Ron."**

"Ron!" Hermione admonished.

"It was years ago! I don't feel that way now. I swear it!" he added, seeing the ire flash in her eyes.

**"He threw his wand back into his trunk. 'Stupid spell-George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud.'"**

"Sad to say you're probably right on that one, Ronnie," George told him, knowing it had been a dud.

Ron just shook his head at George, the git.

**"'What House are your brothers in?' asked Harry.**

**'Gryffindor,' said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. 'Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw **_**would**_** be too bad,'"**-"It would so! All about their _books_ and such," said Fred, earning himself a side smack from Hermione-**"but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.'"**

"Because you'd be disowned, Ron. That's the harsh truth," Ginny told him.

"I'd disown myself," Ron told her.

Sirius shrugged, glad he had been "disowned" by his family. The lot of them were nutters, and he was glad to be rid of them.

**"'That's the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?'**

**'Yeah,' said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

**'You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter,' said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off Houses."**

"That was nice of him," Hestia said.

**"'So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?'**

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

**'Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts,' said Ron. 'Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the _Dailey Prophet_, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles-someone tried to rob a high security vault.'"**

"I do remember that being in the papers some years back," Tonks stated.

"It was a scandal," Minerva told her.

"Whatever happened with that, anyway?"

"I'll assume the book shall tell us," Albus said. He was the one to put the stone in Hogwarts, but many miscalculations were made on his part, he'd admit.

**"Harry stared.**

**'Really? What happened to them?'**

**'Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must have been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it.'"**

"More like _on_ it," Ron whispered to Hermione, who chuckled.

Tonks shot them a curious look, to which she received no form of response.

**"Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying 'Voldemort' without worrying.**

**'What's your Quidditch team?' Ron asked."**

"Everything is either about Quidditch or food," Hermione said.

"Why, of course, Hermione! That's where the action's at," replied Ron.

"He doesn't even know what Quidditch is!"

"Then he'll learn!"

**"'Er-I don't know any,' Harry confessed.**

**'What!' Ron looked dumbfounded. 'Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world-' And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time."**

Ron groaned quietly. _He always has to ruin the fun_, he thought annoyedly.

**"Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: It was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

**'Is it true?' he said. 'They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?'"**

"Hermione, did you and Neville tell everyone?" George asked her.

"Because, if I remember correctly," said Fred, "you were the one that told us, even though we already knew."

**"'Yes,' said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards."**

"Well, they are that. That's pretty much all they're good for. All brawn, no brains," Hermione told Ginny, who nodded heavily.

**"'Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle,' said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. 'And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.'"**

Hermione chuckled, to the surprise of everyone else. Remus also cracked a small smile.

He knew where this was going.

"What?" Hermione asked. "Oh, it's James Bond. You know. . . _The name's Bond. . . James Bond._ That's exactly what Malfoy did."

"I think I have heard of that somewhere," Tonks said. "From my dad maybe. He's a Muggle-born."

"Harry would know what I'm talking about," Hermione stated with conviction.

**"Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

**'Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford.'"**

"That wanker!" Fred said, severely agitated.

Minerva chuckled in response to Snape's swift glare. "You best watch what words you say, _Weasley_."

Molly and Arthur blushed. Even if they couldn't afford the nicest things for their children, they still loved them whole-heartedly.

**"He turned back to Harry. 'You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.'"**

"Yes, because your closest friends happen to be both brainless _and_ spineless. That's not much of an achievement, or something you want to go around boasting about," Ginny said.

"Here, here!" yelled the twins.

**"He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it."**

"Good lad," Sirius said.

**"'I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,' he said coolly.**

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

**'I'd be careful if I were you, Potter,' he said slowly. 'Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.'"**

"That as-jerk!" yelled Goerge.

Sirius was positively fuming in his chair next to Remus. "How could you stand to teach that kid, Remus? He sounds like a bloody nightmare."

"Some days were more difficult than others," Remus said tensely. He couldn't deny the fact, though, that he _was_ afraid Harry would go down the same road as Lily and James. He still had a long life ahead of him, which meant tons of opportunities to be stricken down.

Even Snape had the decency to look irritated, as Minerva. The rest of the Order seemed annoyed, but they had no true fire to back up their feelings.

**"'They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you.'**

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

**'Say that again,' Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

**'Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?' Malfoy sneered.**

**'Unless you get out now,' said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**

**'But we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some.'"**

"What a prat. Just _go_," Ginny whispered. All the times he'd taunted her flashed through her mind. She really just wanted to take her wand and hex him until he bled _thoroughly_.

**"Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron-Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finder, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle-Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once."**

"At least he's good for something, lazy, stupid rat." Ron kicked at the floor in anger.

Albus and Severus shared a look. Draco was always starting arguments he couldn't finish. Snape always worked to keep him in line when he could, but it never seemed to work. The moment Potter and Draco crossed paths was when all hell broke loose, usually.

**"Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

**'What _has_ been going on?' she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

**'I think he's been knocked out,' Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. 'No-I don't believe it-he's gone back to sleep.'**

**And so he had."**

"Absolutely useless," Hermione agreed. "At least he's gone now."

**"'You've met Malfoy before?'**

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**

**'I've heard of his family,' said Ron darkly. 'They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched.'"**

"A load of dragon dung that is," Ron muttered sharply.

"And they were the first to switch back. Sure, bewitched. Even so, they're all imbeciles," said Hermione.

**"'My dad doesn't believe it.'"**

"And you shouldn't. Their whole family is made up of liars," Tonks said.

**"'He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side.' He turned to Hermione. 'Can we help you with something?'**

**'You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!'"**

"Would you tell, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Then, most likely. Now, probably not, so long as it was Malfoy and not some random student. Otherwise, you'd deserve it."

Remus pursed his lips. He'd always thought the same when it came to James, Sirius, and Peter, yet nothing ever came of it.

**"'Scabbers has been fighting, not us,' said Ron, scowling at her. 'Would you mind leaving while we change?'**

**'All right-I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors,' said Hermione in a sniffy voice.'"**

"You just hate everyone, don't you?" George asked her.

Hermione just shook her head.

**"'And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?'**

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

**A voice echoed through the train: 'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.'"**

"I remember thinking that was strange at first," Hermione said. "I wanted to know who, or I guess _what_, was supposed to move our things."

**"Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: 'Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?'"**

"I do miss Hagrid," Hermione said.

"I don't miss his rock cakes though," Ron said with a wince. "Or Fang drooling all over me."

**"Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

**'C'mon, follow me-any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!'**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

**'Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec,' Hagrid called over his shoulder, 'jus' round this bend here.'**

**There was a loud 'Oooooh!'**

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers."**

"It was a good idea to have the first years see the castle in boats," Minerva said to Albus.

"One of our finer aspects, I would say."

**"'No more'n four to a boat!' Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.**

**'Everyone in?' shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. 'Right then-FORWARD!'**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

**'Heads down!' yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face."**

"I got smacked in the face by the ivy," Tonks uttered. "It was slimey and wet. Not at all pleasant."

"Only you, Tonks," Sirius laughed. He was curious to see what the Sorting Hat would say to Harry, if anything at all.

**"They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

**'Oy, you there! Is this your toad?' said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

**'Trevor!' cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands."**

"That toad gets in more trouble than Neville usually does," Ginny said.

"Yes, that's for sure." Hermione added, "On second thought, Neville does have pretty bad luck throughout the year."

**"Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**

**'Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?'**

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door."**

"And we're done," Remus stated.

"Finally," breathed Severus.

"What did you think of your mentions, Ron, Hermione?" asked the twins.

"Interesting." Ron shrugged. "Not anything new, I suppose. You got mentioned too."

"Yeah, we're all going to be mentioned a lot from here on out. We are in Harry's life almost every day," Hermione told them.

Albus clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. They had turned in their seats to begin talking with their neighbors. "Who wants to read next?" he asked the room.

A moment of silence swept around. No one moved. Then. . .

"I'll read, if you will," announced Hestia Jones, ever the quiet one.

Albus smiled, and Remus handed over the heavy volume.

"Shall we?" Albus asked.

"Of course," Hestia replied, and then she opened to the next chapter.

* * *

**All I can say is: thank the lord. It's 4 a.m. I started writing today at 11:30 p.m. yesterday. The only time I stopped was to pee, drink some water, and play with my cat a little bit.**

**My eyes are burning.**

**This chapter was SOOOOO long! I honestly dread to think of how long the chapters in _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ will be. Around 22K words? I sincerely hope not. Right now, where we are, this chapter stands at approx. 15,271 words.**

**I think I doubled the chapter itself with my dialogue. WTF? I don't even know, okay.**

**I'm sorry if the quality of writing went down in the later parts. I really wanted to get this out to you guys, but around 3 a.m. I got a headache. I knew if I stopped I wouldn't get this out to you until late tomorrow at best since I don't wake up until around 4 p.m. now.**

**I've been working on this for three days. That's not that bad, really. BUUUUTTTT, I hope you enjoyed this, look out for the next one (will be the very next chapter, hopefully it's a shorter one), and have a good life (I guess *shrugs*)! 42 BLOODY PAGES!**

_**\- Ashlynn**_


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